aPriori’s sheet plastic cost model has six alternative routings. Each routing includes subsequent optional surface treatment and packaging processes, if your company has licensed these modules. The following figure illustrates how aPriori models all the potential ways that thermoformed sheet plastic components can be manufactured.

The sheet plastic routings are organized within three branches, based on the number of cavities in the mold. Within each of these branches, aPriori includes a material conversion process, two alternative thermoforming processes (a drape forming process for a positive mold and a vacuum forming process for a negative mold), and a router process.

Select Edit > Routing Selection to display the alternative routings in the Routing Selection window.