Development of new products is extremely essential for the success and smooth running of every industry. Companies have to constantly inject innovations and design efforts to make the design processes easy and to attract consumers in a constantly in a evolving and highly competitive market with best quality . Keeping ahead of the competition by bringing new and exciting products to market fast, and at the necessary level of quality, presents a major engineering challenge. A new casting bracket in place of old stamping brackets in snowmobile chassis development process is described, which introduces advanced FEM and Optimization technology into the concept development phase. Detailed predictions of interacting parts in a mechanism assembly are made possible through use of value engineering based process and material selection and advanced simulation technology. Design optimization is then employed using the modeling as a virtual testing ground for design variants. The approach provides clear design direction and helps to improve performance and reduce the unnecessary welding efforts of bracket manufacturing. Design is an intelligent activity that begins with design requirements and ends with a product description. Using Altair Optistruct was able to significantly reduce design time by sub modeling with structural optimization. The resultant casting bracket design showed superior performance characteristics. And finely the manufacturer had to put less efforts in stamping and part welding , which reduced the manufacturing time and cost also.
Experimental Investigation and Parametric Studies of Surface Roughness Analy...IJMER
The modern machining industries are focused on achieving high quality, in terms of part/component accuracy, surface finish, high production rate and increase in product life. Surface roughness of machined components has received serious attention of researchers for many years. It has
been an important design feature and quality measure in machining process. There are a large number of
parameters which affect the surface roughness. The typical controllable parameters for the CNC machines
include cutting tool variables, work piece material variables, cutting conditions etc. The desired output is
surface roughness, material removal rate, tool wear, etc. Optimization of machining parameters needs to
determine the most significant parameter for required output. Many techniques are used for optimization
of machining parameters including Taguchi, RSM and ANOVA approach to determine most significant
parameter. The present work is therefore in a direction to integrate effect of various parameters which affect
the surface roughness. This paper investigates the parameters affecting the surface roughness and / or
material removal rate with CNC turning process studied by researchers. It also discusses some other parameters such as cutting force and power consumption in different conditions
Development of new products is extremely essential for the success and smooth running of every industry. Companies have to constantly inject innovations and design efforts to make the design processes easy and to attract consumers in a constantly in a evolving and highly competitive market with best quality . Keeping ahead of the competition by bringing new and exciting products to market fast, and at the necessary level of quality, presents a major engineering challenge. A new casting bracket in place of old stamping brackets in snowmobile chassis development process is described, which introduces advanced FEM and Optimization technology into the concept development phase. Detailed predictions of interacting parts in a mechanism assembly are made possible through use of value engineering based process and material selection and advanced simulation technology. Design optimization is then employed using the modeling as a virtual testing ground for design variants. The approach provides clear design direction and helps to improve performance and reduce the unnecessary welding efforts of bracket manufacturing. Design is an intelligent activity that begins with design requirements and ends with a product description. Using Altair Optistruct was able to significantly reduce design time by sub modeling with structural optimization. The resultant casting bracket design showed superior performance characteristics. And finely the manufacturer had to put less efforts in stamping and part welding , which reduced the manufacturing time and cost also.
Experimental Investigation and Parametric Studies of Surface Roughness Analy...IJMER
The modern machining industries are focused on achieving high quality, in terms of part/component accuracy, surface finish, high production rate and increase in product life. Surface roughness of machined components has received serious attention of researchers for many years. It has
been an important design feature and quality measure in machining process. There are a large number of
parameters which affect the surface roughness. The typical controllable parameters for the CNC machines
include cutting tool variables, work piece material variables, cutting conditions etc. The desired output is
surface roughness, material removal rate, tool wear, etc. Optimization of machining parameters needs to
determine the most significant parameter for required output. Many techniques are used for optimization
of machining parameters including Taguchi, RSM and ANOVA approach to determine most significant
parameter. The present work is therefore in a direction to integrate effect of various parameters which affect
the surface roughness. This paper investigates the parameters affecting the surface roughness and / or
material removal rate with CNC turning process studied by researchers. It also discusses some other parameters such as cutting force and power consumption in different conditions
The inspiration driving CNC machining undertakings is to make explicit shapes or surface
characteristics for a thing. In view of math and surface completion determinations, conditions for machining
assignments have for the most part been chosen. Assembling ventures endeavor to make high phenomenal things
at decay cost to stay serious inside the market. This exploration zeroed in on growing the advantage of benefit
on PC mathematical control (CNC) by enhancing machining boundaries by processing activities. In this
exploration, the profundity of cut, cutting velocity and feed rate on the aluminum amalgam work piece by the
utilization of carbide unit, embed shaper, HSS were utilized to enhance the advantage of CNC processing
measures by advancing machining boundaries picked to be assessed in this investigation by utilizing Taguchi's
System approach including symmetrical exhibit. The Taguchi strategy is utilized to notice the impact of cycle
boundaries and to look at a portion of the decrease speed, feed and profundity with acknowledgment of the
essential machinability part, surface end. The surface completion has been portrayed as quality attributes and is
accepted to be straightforwardly identified with efficiency.
WHEN DOES PRECISION ENGINEERING STARTS?
Precision engineering was first published in January 1979; since 1986 it has also been known to many of its readers as the Journal of the American Society of Precision Engineering. Now with effect from 2000, it assumes a new look, proudly proclaiming itself the Journal of the International Societies of Precision Engineering and nanotechnology.
Vendor Selection Problem for Radial Drilling Arm by Fuzzy Inference Decision ...IJSRD
Like many complex supply chain problems, vendor selection problems are not so well defined which can be handed over completely to computers, whereas many human characteristics are also essential to the issues. In this paper attention is given to the fuzzy System helps Vendor Selection Problem (VSP) for Radial drilling Arm (RDA). It required expert’s view, conversion it into fuzzy term, making 8 rule base Fuzzy System. At ending point, conclusions and likely areas of Fuzzy in selecting vendors are present.
Prediction of output Responses in Milling of Casted Aluminum by using ANNijiert bestjournal
The important goal in the modern industries is to m anufacture the products with lower cost and with hi gh quality in short span of time. There are two main p ractical problems that engineers face in a manufacturing process. The first is to determine th e values of process parameters that will yield the desired product quality (meet technical specificati ons) and the second is to maximize manufacturing system performance using the available resources. T he increase of customer needs for quality products (more precise tolerances and better product surface roughness) have driven the metal cutting process. The main objective of this project work is to study the effect of surface roughness and Material Removal R ate in a machining of cast aluminum on CNC milling mach ine with High Speed Steel cutting tool. The feasibility of implementation of design of experime nts (DOE),and Artificial Neural network in milling process is analyzed.
Taguchi Method for Optimization of Cutting Parameters in Turning OperationsIDES Editor
Surface roughness an indicator of surface quality is
one of the prime customer requirements for machined parts.
For efficient use of machine tools, optimum cutting
parameters are required. The turning process parameter
optimization is highly complex and time consuming. In this
paper taguchi parameter optimization methodology is applied
to optimize cutting parameters in turning. The turning
parameters evaluated are, cutting velocity, feed rate, depth of
cut, and nose radius of tool and hardness of the material each
at two levels. The results of analysis show that feed rate,
cutting velocity and nose radius have present significant
contribution on the surface roughness and depth of cut and
hardness of material have less significant contribution on the
surface roughness.
Analysis of Process Parameters for Optimization of Plastic Extrusion in Pipe ...IJERA Editor
The objective of this paper is to study the defects in the plastic pipe, to optimize the plastic pipe manufacturing process. It is very essential to learn the process parameter and the defect in the plastic pipe manufacturing process to optimize it. For the optimization Taguchi techniques is used in this paper. For the research work Shivraj HY-Tech Drip Irrigation pipe manufacturing, Company was selected. This paper is specifically design for the optimization in the current process. The experiment was analyzed using commercial Minitab16 software, interpretation has made, and optimized factor settings were chosen. After prediction of result the quality loss is calculated and it is compare with before implementation of DOE. The research works has improves the Production, quality and optimizes the process.
Measurement and Comparison of Productivity Performance Under Fuzzy Imprecise ...Waqas Tariq
The creation of goods and services requires changing the expended resources into the output goods and services. How efficiently we transform these input resources into goods and services depends on the productivity of the transformation process. However, it has been observed there is always a vagueness or imprecision associated with the values of inputs and outputs. Therefore, it becomes hard for a productivity measurement expert to specify the amount of resources and the outputs as exact scalar numbers. The present paper, applies fuzzy set theory to measure and compare productivity performance of transformation processes when numerical data cannot be specified in exact terms. The approach makes it possible to measure and compare productivity of organizational units (including non-government and non-profit entities) when the expert inputs can not be specified as exact scalar quantities. The model has been applied to compare productivity of different branches of a company.
Vibration control of newly designed Tool and Tool-Holder for internal treadi...IJMER
Machining processes are manufacturing methods for ensuring processing quality, usually within
relatively short periods and at low cost. Several machining parameters, such as cutting speed, feed rate, work
piece material, and cutting tool geometry have significant effects on the process quality. Many researchers have
studied the impact of these factors. The cutting tool overhang affects the surface quality, especially during the
internal turning process, but this has not been reviewed much [9].
International Journal of Business and Management Invention (IJBMI) is an international journal intended for professionals and researchers in all fields of Business and Management. IJBMI publishes research articles and reviews within the whole field Business and Management, new teaching methods, assessment, validation and the impact of new technologies and it will continue to provide information on the latest trends and developments in this ever-expanding subject. The publications of papers are selected through double peer reviewed to ensure originality, relevance, and readability. The articles published in our journal can be accessed online.
Estimation of Manufacturing Costs in the Early Stages of Product Development ...IJMER
ABSTRACT : One of the crucial factors in increase of productivity of supply chains is the management of production
costs. Since the number of methods and tools used to estimate the production costs in product development phase is limited,
the designers often estimate the costs based on their experience. The designers can mainly affect the direct costs of a
product, including material, labor and purchased parts. Direct costs vary greatly depending on the number of produced
units. Indirect costs include for example the work in process, storage and internal transportations. The developed software
prototype is based on the Lucas method. It will take a simple and ideal part, whose costs are known and then use factors to
produce the final costs. The application calculates sophisticated estimates about how much it would cost to produce a single
part. The developed software seems to work surprisingly well. It may not tell the final truth about the component costs but
can be used to open the eyes of the designer when the costs of the component under design are growing too high. It can also
be used to find the most suitable manufacturing method and when considering the make or buy decisions.
Keywords: Cost estimation, Manufacturing costs, Product Development
The inspiration driving CNC machining undertakings is to make explicit shapes or surface
characteristics for a thing. In view of math and surface completion determinations, conditions for machining
assignments have for the most part been chosen. Assembling ventures endeavor to make high phenomenal things
at decay cost to stay serious inside the market. This exploration zeroed in on growing the advantage of benefit
on PC mathematical control (CNC) by enhancing machining boundaries by processing activities. In this
exploration, the profundity of cut, cutting velocity and feed rate on the aluminum amalgam work piece by the
utilization of carbide unit, embed shaper, HSS were utilized to enhance the advantage of CNC processing
measures by advancing machining boundaries picked to be assessed in this investigation by utilizing Taguchi's
System approach including symmetrical exhibit. The Taguchi strategy is utilized to notice the impact of cycle
boundaries and to look at a portion of the decrease speed, feed and profundity with acknowledgment of the
essential machinability part, surface end. The surface completion has been portrayed as quality attributes and is
accepted to be straightforwardly identified with efficiency.
WHEN DOES PRECISION ENGINEERING STARTS?
Precision engineering was first published in January 1979; since 1986 it has also been known to many of its readers as the Journal of the American Society of Precision Engineering. Now with effect from 2000, it assumes a new look, proudly proclaiming itself the Journal of the International Societies of Precision Engineering and nanotechnology.
Vendor Selection Problem for Radial Drilling Arm by Fuzzy Inference Decision ...IJSRD
Like many complex supply chain problems, vendor selection problems are not so well defined which can be handed over completely to computers, whereas many human characteristics are also essential to the issues. In this paper attention is given to the fuzzy System helps Vendor Selection Problem (VSP) for Radial drilling Arm (RDA). It required expert’s view, conversion it into fuzzy term, making 8 rule base Fuzzy System. At ending point, conclusions and likely areas of Fuzzy in selecting vendors are present.
Prediction of output Responses in Milling of Casted Aluminum by using ANNijiert bestjournal
The important goal in the modern industries is to m anufacture the products with lower cost and with hi gh quality in short span of time. There are two main p ractical problems that engineers face in a manufacturing process. The first is to determine th e values of process parameters that will yield the desired product quality (meet technical specificati ons) and the second is to maximize manufacturing system performance using the available resources. T he increase of customer needs for quality products (more precise tolerances and better product surface roughness) have driven the metal cutting process. The main objective of this project work is to study the effect of surface roughness and Material Removal R ate in a machining of cast aluminum on CNC milling mach ine with High Speed Steel cutting tool. The feasibility of implementation of design of experime nts (DOE),and Artificial Neural network in milling process is analyzed.
Taguchi Method for Optimization of Cutting Parameters in Turning OperationsIDES Editor
Surface roughness an indicator of surface quality is
one of the prime customer requirements for machined parts.
For efficient use of machine tools, optimum cutting
parameters are required. The turning process parameter
optimization is highly complex and time consuming. In this
paper taguchi parameter optimization methodology is applied
to optimize cutting parameters in turning. The turning
parameters evaluated are, cutting velocity, feed rate, depth of
cut, and nose radius of tool and hardness of the material each
at two levels. The results of analysis show that feed rate,
cutting velocity and nose radius have present significant
contribution on the surface roughness and depth of cut and
hardness of material have less significant contribution on the
surface roughness.
Analysis of Process Parameters for Optimization of Plastic Extrusion in Pipe ...IJERA Editor
The objective of this paper is to study the defects in the plastic pipe, to optimize the plastic pipe manufacturing process. It is very essential to learn the process parameter and the defect in the plastic pipe manufacturing process to optimize it. For the optimization Taguchi techniques is used in this paper. For the research work Shivraj HY-Tech Drip Irrigation pipe manufacturing, Company was selected. This paper is specifically design for the optimization in the current process. The experiment was analyzed using commercial Minitab16 software, interpretation has made, and optimized factor settings were chosen. After prediction of result the quality loss is calculated and it is compare with before implementation of DOE. The research works has improves the Production, quality and optimizes the process.
Measurement and Comparison of Productivity Performance Under Fuzzy Imprecise ...Waqas Tariq
The creation of goods and services requires changing the expended resources into the output goods and services. How efficiently we transform these input resources into goods and services depends on the productivity of the transformation process. However, it has been observed there is always a vagueness or imprecision associated with the values of inputs and outputs. Therefore, it becomes hard for a productivity measurement expert to specify the amount of resources and the outputs as exact scalar numbers. The present paper, applies fuzzy set theory to measure and compare productivity performance of transformation processes when numerical data cannot be specified in exact terms. The approach makes it possible to measure and compare productivity of organizational units (including non-government and non-profit entities) when the expert inputs can not be specified as exact scalar quantities. The model has been applied to compare productivity of different branches of a company.
Vibration control of newly designed Tool and Tool-Holder for internal treadi...IJMER
Machining processes are manufacturing methods for ensuring processing quality, usually within
relatively short periods and at low cost. Several machining parameters, such as cutting speed, feed rate, work
piece material, and cutting tool geometry have significant effects on the process quality. Many researchers have
studied the impact of these factors. The cutting tool overhang affects the surface quality, especially during the
internal turning process, but this has not been reviewed much [9].
International Journal of Business and Management Invention (IJBMI) is an international journal intended for professionals and researchers in all fields of Business and Management. IJBMI publishes research articles and reviews within the whole field Business and Management, new teaching methods, assessment, validation and the impact of new technologies and it will continue to provide information on the latest trends and developments in this ever-expanding subject. The publications of papers are selected through double peer reviewed to ensure originality, relevance, and readability. The articles published in our journal can be accessed online.
Estimation of Manufacturing Costs in the Early Stages of Product Development ...IJMER
ABSTRACT : One of the crucial factors in increase of productivity of supply chains is the management of production
costs. Since the number of methods and tools used to estimate the production costs in product development phase is limited,
the designers often estimate the costs based on their experience. The designers can mainly affect the direct costs of a
product, including material, labor and purchased parts. Direct costs vary greatly depending on the number of produced
units. Indirect costs include for example the work in process, storage and internal transportations. The developed software
prototype is based on the Lucas method. It will take a simple and ideal part, whose costs are known and then use factors to
produce the final costs. The application calculates sophisticated estimates about how much it would cost to produce a single
part. The developed software seems to work surprisingly well. It may not tell the final truth about the component costs but
can be used to open the eyes of the designer when the costs of the component under design are growing too high. It can also
be used to find the most suitable manufacturing method and when considering the make or buy decisions.
Keywords: Cost estimation, Manufacturing costs, Product Development
Manufacturing Process Simulation Based Geometrical Design for Complicated PartsLiu PeiLing
More than ever, it is critical that products are designed and manufactured right the first time. Design for Manufacturing (DFM) methodology has been recognized as one of the most effective ways to short product lifecycle time and reduce manufacturing cost. The main function of DFM in the detailed design stage is analyzing the manufacturability of the part. Various existing manufacturability evaluation methods have their limitations. In this paper, a new approach to DFM for the complicated parts is proposed. Instead of checking the manufacturability following the design, the in-process model resulting from the manufacturing process simulation is used to generate process dependent geometry surfaces at the design stage. The definition of the manufacturing process dependent geometry is given, and the methodology for creation of in-process model is presented in details.
Value Engineering is a technique for determining the manufacturing requirements of a
product/service; it is concerned with its evaluation and finally the selection of less costly
conditions. VE is a process for achieving the optimal result in a way that quality, safety, reliability
and convertibility of every monetary unit are improved.
Here theory of Value Engineering along with case study of UTM is presented.
The measured mile/baseline method has been widely accepted to quantify labor
productivity loss, but it has not been successfully used in engineering productivity because of the
challenges in engineering productivity measurement and the determination of productivity
benchmark. This paper presents a series of procedures based on the measured mile/baseline
method to quantify engineering productivity loss from a project specific perspective. A case study
on the piping discipline in a large scale process plant project is used to illustrate the calculation.
The paper also includes a proposed approach, the two mile method, to quantify engineering
productivity loss using data for similar work, but different complexity.
This report is a research on how to use DFM (Design For Manufacturing) engineering method to reduce the cost and time of manufacturing. Additionally it is describing (how to choose/which is the best) production(manufacturing) technology.
Final project report on grocery store management system..pdfKamal Acharya
In today’s fast-changing business environment, it’s extremely important to be able to respond to client needs in the most effective and timely manner. If your customers wish to see your business online and have instant access to your products or services.
Online Grocery Store is an e-commerce website, which retails various grocery products. This project allows viewing various products available enables registered users to purchase desired products instantly using Paytm, UPI payment processor (Instant Pay) and also can place order by using Cash on Delivery (Pay Later) option. This project provides an easy access to Administrators and Managers to view orders placed using Pay Later and Instant Pay options.
In order to develop an e-commerce website, a number of Technologies must be studied and understood. These include multi-tiered architecture, server and client-side scripting techniques, implementation technologies, programming language (such as PHP, HTML, CSS, JavaScript) and MySQL relational databases. This is a project with the objective to develop a basic website where a consumer is provided with a shopping cart website and also to know about the technologies used to develop such a website.
This document will discuss each of the underlying technologies to create and implement an e- commerce website.
An Approach to Detecting Writing Styles Based on Clustering Techniquesambekarshweta25
An Approach to Detecting Writing Styles Based on Clustering Techniques
Authors:
-Devkinandan Jagtap
-Shweta Ambekar
-Harshit Singh
-Nakul Sharma (Assistant Professor)
Institution:
VIIT Pune, India
Abstract:
This paper proposes a system to differentiate between human-generated and AI-generated texts using stylometric analysis. The system analyzes text files and classifies writing styles by employing various clustering algorithms, such as k-means, k-means++, hierarchical, and DBSCAN. The effectiveness of these algorithms is measured using silhouette scores. The system successfully identifies distinct writing styles within documents, demonstrating its potential for plagiarism detection.
Introduction:
Stylometry, the study of linguistic and structural features in texts, is used for tasks like plagiarism detection, genre separation, and author verification. This paper leverages stylometric analysis to identify different writing styles and improve plagiarism detection methods.
Methodology:
The system includes data collection, preprocessing, feature extraction, dimensional reduction, machine learning models for clustering, and performance comparison using silhouette scores. Feature extraction focuses on lexical features, vocabulary richness, and readability scores. The study uses a small dataset of texts from various authors and employs algorithms like k-means, k-means++, hierarchical clustering, and DBSCAN for clustering.
Results:
Experiments show that the system effectively identifies writing styles, with silhouette scores indicating reasonable to strong clustering when k=2. As the number of clusters increases, the silhouette scores decrease, indicating a drop in accuracy. K-means and k-means++ perform similarly, while hierarchical clustering is less optimized.
Conclusion and Future Work:
The system works well for distinguishing writing styles with two clusters but becomes less accurate as the number of clusters increases. Future research could focus on adding more parameters and optimizing the methodology to improve accuracy with higher cluster values. This system can enhance existing plagiarism detection tools, especially in academic settings.
Water billing management system project report.pdfKamal Acharya
Our project entitled “Water Billing Management System” aims is to generate Water bill with all the charges and penalty. Manual system that is employed is extremely laborious and quite inadequate. It only makes the process more difficult and hard.
The aim of our project is to develop a system that is meant to partially computerize the work performed in the Water Board like generating monthly Water bill, record of consuming unit of water, store record of the customer and previous unpaid record.
We used HTML/PHP as front end and MYSQL as back end for developing our project. HTML is primarily a visual design environment. We can create a android application by designing the form and that make up the user interface. Adding android application code to the form and the objects such as buttons and text boxes on them and adding any required support code in additional modular.
MySQL is free open source database that facilitates the effective management of the databases by connecting them to the software. It is a stable ,reliable and the powerful solution with the advanced features and advantages which are as follows: Data Security.MySQL is free open source database that facilitates the effective management of the databases by connecting them to the software.
Saudi Arabia stands as a titan in the global energy landscape, renowned for its abundant oil and gas resources. It's the largest exporter of petroleum and holds some of the world's most significant reserves. Let's delve into the top 10 oil and gas projects shaping Saudi Arabia's energy future in 2024.
HEAP SORT ILLUSTRATED WITH HEAPIFY, BUILD HEAP FOR DYNAMIC ARRAYS.
Heap sort is a comparison-based sorting technique based on Binary Heap data structure. It is similar to the selection sort where we first find the minimum element and place the minimum element at the beginning. Repeat the same process for the remaining elements.
Online aptitude test management system project report.pdfKamal Acharya
The purpose of on-line aptitude test system is to take online test in an efficient manner and no time wasting for checking the paper. The main objective of on-line aptitude test system is to efficiently evaluate the candidate thoroughly through a fully automated system that not only saves lot of time but also gives fast results. For students they give papers according to their convenience and time and there is no need of using extra thing like paper, pen etc. This can be used in educational institutions as well as in corporate world. Can be used anywhere any time as it is a web based application (user Location doesn’t matter). No restriction that examiner has to be present when the candidate takes the test.
Every time when lecturers/professors need to conduct examinations they have to sit down think about the questions and then create a whole new set of questions for each and every exam. In some cases the professor may want to give an open book online exam that is the student can take the exam any time anywhere, but the student might have to answer the questions in a limited time period. The professor may want to change the sequence of questions for every student. The problem that a student has is whenever a date for the exam is declared the student has to take it and there is no way he can take it at some other time. This project will create an interface for the examiner to create and store questions in a repository. It will also create an interface for the student to take examinations at his convenience and the questions and/or exams may be timed. Thereby creating an application which can be used by examiners and examinee’s simultaneously.
Examination System is very useful for Teachers/Professors. As in the teaching profession, you are responsible for writing question papers. In the conventional method, you write the question paper on paper, keep question papers separate from answers and all this information you have to keep in a locker to avoid unauthorized access. Using the Examination System you can create a question paper and everything will be written to a single exam file in encrypted format. You can set the General and Administrator password to avoid unauthorized access to your question paper. Every time you start the examination, the program shuffles all the questions and selects them randomly from the database, which reduces the chances of memorizing the questions.
We have compiled the most important slides from each speaker's presentation. This year’s compilation, available for free, captures the key insights and contributions shared during the DfMAy 2024 conference.
Forklift Classes Overview by Intella PartsIntella Parts
Discover the different forklift classes and their specific applications. Learn how to choose the right forklift for your needs to ensure safety, efficiency, and compliance in your operations.
For more technical information, visit our website https://intellaparts.com
1. _______________________________________________________________________________
*Contact address: Prof. B. Ravi, Mechanical Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology, Powai,
Mumbai 400076, India. Phone: (+91-22) 2576 7510 Fax: (+91-22) 2572 6875 E-mail: bravi@me.iitb.ac.in
Revised paper submitted for publication in IJCIM, Dec 2005
Casting cost estimation in an integrated
product and process design environment
R. G. Chougule
Research Scholar, Mechanical Engineering Department, IIT Bombay, India
chougule@me.iitb.ac.in
B. Ravi *
Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, IIT Bombay, India
bravi@me.iitb.ac.in
Abstract
A casting cost estimation model, driven by the solid model of the part and its attributes (material,
geometric, quality and production requirements) is presented. It is meant for product designers with
little knowledge of the process, enabling design modifications for cost reduction in early stages,
when the cost of such modifications is low. Analytical equations have been developed to estimate
the cost related to material and conversion (energy and labour). A parametric model has been
developed for tooling cost, driven by part complexity, which is computed from the part solid
model. Parameters related to process plan and methoding/rigging (feeding and gating), required for
accurate estimation of casting costs, are semi-automatically generated by process planning and
casting methoding programs developed in our lab. The programs are in turn linked to a web based
intelligent collaborative engineering system called WebICE. This enables exchange of casting
project data (including cost data) among product designers, tool makers and foundry engineers over
the Internet, enabling design modifications to achieve the targeted cost. An industrial example is
presented to illustrate the entire system.
Keywords: Casting, computer aided design, cost estimation, collaborative engineering, integrated
product process design, parametric costing, solid model, web based engineering.
1. Introduction
It has been well established that over 70% of the total development cost of a product is
frozen during the design phase, though this phase accounts for less than 7% of the total
cost (Hundal 1993). Devoting more resources for early identification and prevention of
potential manufacturing problems through concurrent product and process design
significantly reduces the overall cost and lead-time. To aid decision-making when a choice
is to be made among various alternatives for geometric, material or process parameters, an
early cost estimation tool is useful and perhaps even essential. It enables product engineers
to perform ‘what-if’ experiments and study the effect of different designs on
manufacturing cost. It can also be used during design iterations to verify if the targeted
cost can be achieved (design to cost). With intensifying global competition, manufacturing
cost estimation at design stage is generating considerable interest among researchers and
practicing engineers.
This investigation focuses on early cost estimation of cast components. Casting is an
important manufacturing process and cast parts are found in 90% of manufactured goods
2. 2
and equipment (DoE, 1999). Most original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) outsource
the castings from foundries. Each foundry usually specialises in a particular process (such
as green sand casting, investment casting or gravity die casting), focussing on a narrow
range of metals (either ferrous or non-ferrous) and applications (in terms of size/weight
and geometric complexity). It may have a unique combination of equipment, automation
level, worker skill and past experience. The tooling (patterns, core boxes, moulds) and
methoding (feeding and gating systems), which greatly affect casting quality and yield, are
designed in different ways based on knowledge gained from previous projects. These
factors lead to significant variations in manufacturing cost among different foundries.
Ironically, most foundries do not maintain detailed cost data, making it difficult to
establish the profitability of specific casting projects. This is becoming critical in the light
of increasing pressure from original equipment manufacturers to reduce casting prices on a
continuous basis.
Many castings, though more economical than similar parts made by other processes, have a
significant potential for further cost reduction by minor design modifications that lead to
better product-process compatibility. However, with limited knowledge about casting
processes and inadequate information about the facilities and capabilities of a particular
foundry, design engineers cannot be expected to accurately estimate casting costs,
especially for new products. Thus in practice, even those product designers who are aware
of the benefits of early cost estimation and design-to-cost philosophy, are unable to
achieve the same owing to a lack of suitable tools.
This paper presents our research work on developing a systematic methodology for early
casting cost estimation, suitable for design engineers. It will enable analysing the
combined effect of preliminary design of product, tooling and process on cost, facilitating
minor design changes to reduce cost while maintaining the desired functionality and
quality. The present work focuses only on the manufacturing cost; the cost of
transportation, customs, duties, taxes and other elements affecting the price are not
considered. A brief review of literature related to various approaches for cost estimation,
focussing on work in casting domain, is presented in the following section. Our overall
methodology is presented next, including an integrated product process design
environment incorporating the proposed model for early cost estimation. Finally, the
proposed approach is illustrated with an industrial example.
2. Previous work
A number of cost estimation approaches are available today for estimating product cost at
design stage. These include intuitive, analogical (Duverline and Castelain 1999, Wang et
al. 2003), analytical (Feng and Zhang 1999), feature based (Feng et al. 1996, Ou-Yang and
Lin 1997) and parametric (DoD 1999, Farineau et al. 2001). The intuitive method is based
on the experience of the estimator, especially with similar parts and interpretation. The
analogical method involves comparison of a new product with similar existing products.
Case based reasoning has been applied to improve the results of the analogical method
(Duverline and Castelain 1999). The analytical method involves decomposition into
elementary parts and tasks for each part, and empirical equations are used for estimating
the cost of various tasks. The feature based method uses geometric features (such as slot,
3. 3
hole and rib) of the product and tooling as the basis for cost estimation. The parametric
cost estimation methods involve formulating relations between product characteristics and
its cost using available data. Since it gives quick estimates without detailed data related to
downstream activities, it is gaining application in manufacturing domain. Examples
include estimation of the cost of injection moulds (Fagade and Kazmer, 2000), and disc
brakes (Cavalieri et al. 2004).
A few researchers have focused on cost estimation of a particular operation or domain such
as sheet metal working (Weustinck et al. 2000), hole making (Luong and Spedding 1995),
and injection moulding (Yuh-Min and Jang-Jong 1999). Bidanda et al. (1998) developed a
castability analysis and cost estimation system for permanent mould cast components.
However, very little work has been reported on cost estimation of sand casting that
accounts for over 75% of casting production.
The major cost elements of a casting such as material, tooling, labour, energy and
overheads have been identified by early researchers (Chronister 1975, Jain 1987 and
Kulkarni 1988). In practice, many foundries and their customers still estimate cost based
on component weight, corrected for the expected level of production difficulties, scrap and
yield. The weight based method involves accounting all expenses (material, energy, labour,
etc.) and total weight of salable castings produced, during a predetermined period. Based
on this data, the average rate of castings per kg is calculated, and is used for calculating the
cost of new castings based on their weight. The method works well in mass production
foundries making castings of similar characteristics, but is not suitable for job shop or
batch type foundries that have a wide range of products. To alleviate these problems, more
elaborate cost models have been proposed by identifying and calculating the detailed cost
elements (Creese 1992, Creese and Rao 1995). Ajmal and Dale (1990) developed a simple
computer aided process planning and cost estimating system for foundry application driven
by a database and interactive user input.
The cost of tooling (pattern, core box, mould, etc.) is amortized over the number of
castings produced, and can be a significant proportion of the casting cost, especially when
order size is low. It is driven by product geometry, tooling material and order quantity,
among other factors. Most of the cost models developed so far do not provide any facilities
for estimating the tooling costs based on product and process parameters, and expect the
user to provide the cost based on past experience. In general, the cost models available for
casting domain require detailed knowledge of tooling design and manufacturing process;
they are more suitable for use at manufacturing stage by foundry engineers.
The DFMA (Design for Manufacture and Assembly) software developed by Boothroyd
Dewhurst Inc. (2003) has a detailed casting cost estimation module aimed at product
designers. It however, requires considerable amount of interactive input about the process,
such as the time required for each activity and the corresponding labour rate. Also, it does
not consider the effect of two key parameters that significantly affect casting cost: internal
quality requirement (which depends on the end application) and yield (which varies with
casting geometry, metal and process).
4. 4
To summarize, early cost estimation enables assessing various design alternatives to arrive
at the most economical one. Since the total cost depends on the tooling and process
parameters also, the cost model must consider these too. Yet, it must be easy-to-use by
product designers with limited knowledge of downstream activities. While a number of
cost models based on analogical, analytical, feature-based and parametric methods have
been evolved, and used for early cost estimation of machined, moulded and sheet metal
parts, there is very little published literature on early cost estimation of castings.
The work presented in this paper attempts to bridge this gap by developing a mathematical
model for casting cost estimation and implementing the same in an integrated product-
process design environment. The model is driven by a database of material and process
dependent cost factors, minimizing user inputs. The goal is to enable design engineers to
estimate casting costs accurately, even with limited knowledge of casting process. A
secondary goal is to implement the cost model in a web based environment, so that
product, foundry and tooling engineers can update the relevant factors, carry out iterations
of ‘what-if’ analysis and collaboratively evolve a compatible set of product, tooling and
process parameters. We focus on early cost estimation of sand cast components (ferrous as
well as non-ferrous), which constitute over 75% of casting production worldwide, but have
received the least attention from researchers so far.
3. Cost estimation methodology
The overall casting cost estimation methodology is shown in figure 1. The user input for
cost estimation includes only part solid model, casting material, quality attributes
(maximum void size, surface finish, dimensional tolerance) and production requirements
(production rate, order quantity, sample lead time and production lead time). The part
model is used for automatic computation of geometric attributes such as casting volume
and weight, minimum and maximum section thickness, cored hole size and shape
complexity.
All the above inputs in turn drive process design, which is completed by semi-automatic
programs for casting process planning and methoding (feeding and gating design). Process
planning deals with decisions related to methods, equipments, steps, time required, tooling
type and process parameters (such as type of mould or core sand, sand composition,
melting charge, pouring time, pouring height, cooling time and quality checks). A case
based reasoning approach, which involves searching for the process plan of the closest
matching product manufactured earlier, has been employed for this purpose. Methoding
involves design of feeding system (number, location, shape and size of feeders and
feedaids) and gating system (location, shape and size of sprue, pouring basin, well,
runners, ingates and filters). These are designed and modelled using a 3D methoding
program.
The output of the process design programs, along with the geometric, material, quality and
production attributes of the part, is used for casting cost estimation. The cost model is
described in detail next, followed by casting process design in a subsequent section.
5. 5
Figure 1. Cost estimation system - overall architecture
The main elements of casting cost are material, labour, energy, tooling and overheads.
These are primarily driven by product and process parameters. The cast metal and part
weight forms the basis of material cost. Process planning data in terms of
process/equipment used and hours required for each activity forms the basis of labour cost.
Energy cost is estimated based on the casting weight, yield, pouring temperature and
melting equipment. Tooling cost is the most difficult to estimate, and a parametric
approach has been evolved for this purpose. Overheads are assigned based on casting
weight. Cost modifiers have been proposed to incorporate the effect of losses/rejections at
different stages of production. They also help in customising the program for a specific
foundry, and correcting the results for different types of castings. The total casting cost is
given as the sum of costs corresponding to material, labour, energy, tooling and overheads.
casting material labour energy tooling overheadsC C C C C C= + + + + (1)
Other costs related to interest rate, fixed cost, delivery, taxes, duties and premium can be
added. These elements are not considered in the present work, which focuses only on
manufacturing cost driven by product design. The equations for estimation of costs related
to material, labour, energy, tooling and overheads are presented in the following
subsections. The equations are generalised for any currency, that is, the cost values will be
obtained in the same currency as that used for the material, labour and energy rates.
6. 6
3.1 Material cost
The material cost involves both direct and indirect materials. Direct materials (cast metal
or alloy) appear in the final product whereas indirect materials are essential for production
but are not included in the final product. Moulding sand, dispensable cores, insulating
sleeves, chills etc. are indirect materials. The direct material cost can be determined from
the casting weight. However, the actual amount of metal consumed is more than the weight
of manufactured castings, owing to irrecoverable losses during melting, pouring and
fettling. The basic metal cost equation has been modified to incorporate these factors.
Since rejected castings (defective castings that cannot be repaired) are re-melted, the factor
for rejection is not considered in direct material cost equation. The material cost is given as
the sum of the costs of direct and indirect materials as,
material direct indirectC C C= + (2)
_direct unit metal cast m p fC c w f f f= × × × × (3)
Where,
cunit_metal = Unit metal cost
wcast = Casting weight = c castVρ ×
cρ = Casting metal density
Vcast = Casting volume
fm = Factor for metal loss in melting = 1.01-1.12 (see Table 1)
fp = Factor for metal loss in pouring = 1.01-1.07
ff = Factor for metal loss in fettling =1.01-1.07
The melting loss factor for various melting methods and rejection factors for various
quality levels given in table 1 and table 2 respectively, have been determined based on
deliberations with experts from industries and from related literature (Beeley 1972).
Table 1. Melting loss factor and furnace efficiency factor
Furnace mf fη
Cupola furnace 1.05-1.12 3.0-3.5
Induction furnace 1.01-1.04 1.4-2.0
Electric arc Furnace 1.02-1.07 2.0-2.5
Oil/gas fired furnace 1.05-1.10 3.25-3.5
Table 2: Casting rejection factor
Metal/alloy Quality level Maximum
void size
fr
Grey iron 1 0.01-0.10 1.05-1.10
2 0.10-1.00 1.02-1.05
3 1.00-2.00 1.00-1.02
Steel 1 0.01-0.05 1.07-1.12
2 0.05-1.00 1.05-1.10
3 1.00-2.00 1.00-1.05
7. 7
Indirect materials depend on the process. The moulding sand and core sand constitute the
main element of indirect material cost. The cost of moulding sand depends on the type of
sand (silica, olivine, zircon, sodium silicate, etc.), composition (amount of binder), mould
box size and layout. Core sand cost mainly depends on the type of sand (represented by the
core-making process) and volume of cores. Cost modifiers for mould rejection, core
rejection, casting rejection and sand reclamation have also been considered. Miscellaneous
indirect materials (such as insulating sleeves, chills and chaplets) are added depending on
use. The total indirect material cost is given as,
_ _indirect mould sand core sand miscellaneousC C C C= + + (4)
_ _ _ _ _
_
1c m
mould sand unit mould sand recycle r mould rej core sand core
metal sand c
V
C c f f f V
r n
ρ
ρ
⎛ ⎞×
= × × × × − × ×⎜ ⎟⎜ ⎟
⎝ ⎠
(5)
_ _ _ _ _core sand unit core sand r core rej core sand coreC c f f Vρ= × × × × (6)
Where,
Cmould_sand = Mold sand cost
Ccore_sand = Core sand cost
Cmiscellaneous = Miscellaneous material cost
cunit_mould_sand = Unit mould sand cost
cunit_core_sand = Unit core sand cost
frecycle = Factor for recycled sand =0.1-1.0
fr = Factor for casting rejection = 1.00-1.12 (see Table 2)
fmould_rej = Factor for mould rejection
fcore_rej = Factor for core rejection
rmetal_sand = metal to sand ratio (given later)
Vm = Metal volume per mould ( )c cast g fn V V V= × + +
Vf = Volume of all feeders per mould
Vg = Volume of entire gating system
_core sandρ = Core sand density
Vcore = Core volume
nc = Number of cavities per mould
3.2 Labour cost
The labour cost is a function of equipment, labour and time required for various activities
in casting production. This information is contained in the process plan. Some of the
activities such as melting, sand preparation and shakeout, are performed for a batch. The
time per component for these activities has been calculated based on casting weight, core
weight, mould weight and number of castings, respectively. The labour cost is given as,
_ _
1
n
labour r rej act unit labour act act
act
C f f c l t
=
⎛ ⎞
= × × × ×⎜ ⎟
⎝ ⎠
∑ (7)
Where,
cunit_labour = Unit labour cost
lact = Number of workers involved in activity i
tact = Time for activity i per component
n = Number of activities
8. 8
frej_act = Rejection factor for activity i
= fcore_rej for core making activity =1.00 – 1.20
= fmould_rej for mould making activity = 1.00 – 1.10
= 1 for other activities
3.3 Energy cost
Metal casting is an energy intensive process, and melting of metal constitutes the most
important factor in energy cost. The energy required for melting is estimated using a
thermodynamic equation, and corrected by incorporating cost modifiers related to furnace
efficiency, losses and yield. Other energy-intensive activities include mould making, core-
making, cleaning and fettling. The energy cost is given as the sum of costs for melting and
other energy as,
_energy melting other energyC C C= + (8)
_ [( ( ) ( )]melting unit enery cast y r m p f ps melt room pl tap meltC c f w f f f f f c t t L c t tη= × × × × × × × × × − + + × − (9)
Where,
cunit_energy = Unit energy cost
fη = Factor for furnace efficiency (see Table 1)
fy = Factor for overall yield (gating and fettling)
cps = Specific heat of metal at solid phase
cpl = Specific heat of metal at liquid phase
tmelt = Pouring temperature of metal
troom = Room temperature
ttap = Tapping temperature (molten metal removal from furnace)
The cost of other energy is assigned based on the weight of a casting. The rate of assigning
is calculated by dividing other energy costs over a period of time by the total weight of
castings manufactured during that span.
3.4 Tooling cost
The cost of tooling is difficult to estimate, since it is not yet developed at the product
design stage and detailed tooling process plan is not available. This is best tackled by a
parametric methodology driven by parameters related to product geometry, material,
quality and order quantity. The methodology can give fairly accurate results depending on
the instances of cost data of past cases used for deriving the parametric equations. Based
on deliberations with casting and tooling experts, major factors influencing tooling cost
were identified as tooling material, size, accuracy and shape complexity. The tooling
material (wood, aluminium, cast iron, steel, etc.) is usually selected based on order
quantity. For a given tooling material (in this case, cast iron), the tooling cost equation has
been developed through regression analysis using data collected from tool-makers (Table
3). The equation gives the relative cost of tooling of different shapes, but in the same
material. This is multiplied by a cost index to give the actual cost, taking into account
variations between manufacturers and countries (currency), and divided by the order
quantity to obtain the amortised cost of tooling (per casting). The value of cost index used
in the present investigation is 1000 (for currency in INR).
9. 9
_ _ s exp(0.629 0.048 0.023 0.739)rel tool co t cast ac sC V C C= × + × + × + (10)
_ _ s /tooling index rel tool co tC c c Q= × (11)
Where,
Crel_tool_cost = Relative tooling cost for cast iron tooling
Ctooling = Amortised cost of tooling (cast iron tooling)
Cindex = Tooling cost index that varies with manufacturer, currency and time
Vcast = Casting volume in m3
Cac = Accuracy index on 1-100 scale (explained later)
Cs = Casting shape complexity
Q = Order quantity
Table 3. Tooling cost regression data for cast iron tooling
Component Name Volume
x 10-3
(m3
)
(Vcast)
Accuracy
Index
(Cac)
Shape
Complexity
(Cs)
Actual
Tooling cost
in INR
(Cact_tool)
Actual
relative
tooling cost
(Crel_tool_cost)
= _
1000
act toolC
Estimated
relative
tooling cost
Cube 1.00 5 6.0 3000 3.0 3.05
Sphere 1.20 10 10.0 4000 4.0 4.25
Cube with hole 1.50 20 12.0 6000 6.0 7.18
Bracket 0.93 25 25.0 14 000 14.0 12.31
Stand 0.87 25 25.0 15 000 15.0 12.30
Pulley 4.80 30 20.0 17 000 17.0 13.95
Lug 0.32 40 27.5 22 500 22.5 26.65
Knuckle 0.10 40 48.0 42 000 42.0 42.88
Ball valve 0.98 50 32.5 39 000 39.0 48.24
Differential casing 0.56 40 55.0 65 000 65.0 50.45
Auto cylinder 0.61 50 42.0 60 000 60.0 60.12
UL Valve 0.17 45 60.0 60 000 60.0 71.88
Globe valve 10.10 80 35.0 250 000 250.0 214.91
Steam valve 38.05 80 78.0 500 000 500.0 592.77
Hydraulic lift 40.10 80 80.0 600 000 600.0 622.05
Engine block 46.94 90 92.0 1500 000 1500.0 1328.42
The cost index can be determined by dividing the actual tooling costs by the relative
tooling cost for the same casting. An average value of the cost index can be computed for a
given tool manufacturer and used in the above equation. For example, if the tooling costs
for bracket, auto cylinder and globe valve for another tool manufacturer are 400, 1500 and
6000 USD respectively, then the respective cost indices will be 32.5, 25 and 28, giving an
overall cost index of 28.5.
10. 10
Similar equations are being developed for wooden and epoxy patterns. The particular
equation to use (pattern material) can be selected depending on the casting order quantity.
The shape complexity is estimated from the 3D model. For this purpose, an equation to
calculate the shape complexity in terms of surface area and number of cored features has
been developed using regression analysis (Chougule and Ravi 2004). To eliminate the
effect of the absolute value of surface area (for example a cube of any size will have same
shape complexity) it is expressed in terms of area ratio as follows.
0.3 0.8 14s a cC C C= × + × − (14)
Where,
Cs = Shape complexity
Ca = Area ratio = 100 x (1 – ( surface area of cube of equal volume / surface area
of part))
Cc = Core complexity factor = ( )100 1 1 1 n⎡ ⎤× − +
⎣ ⎦
, where n = number of cores
For determining the shape complexity for a new component from its 3D model, values of
Ca and Cc are determined and then shape complexity is calculated using the above
equation.
The accuracy index has been assigned on 1 to 100 scale depending on the application. For
example, engine block and valve castings require a high value of accuracy index whereas
bracket and stand castings require a lower value. The designer can specify the accuracy
index for the component based on application and referring to the accuracy index values
given for sample components (table 3).
3.5 Overhead costs
Overhead costs include administrative overheads and depreciation cost. These costs are
assigned based on the weight of the casting as given below.
Coverheads = Cadministarion + Cdepriciation (15)
Cadministarion = wcast x Cadministarion_rate (16)
Cdepriciation = wcast x Cdepriciation_rate (17)
Where,
Cadministarion = Administration cost per component
Cadministarion_rate = Administration cost rate per kg
Cdepriciation= Depreciation cost per component
Cdepriciation_rate = Depreciation cost rate per kg
The administration and depreciation rates are calculated by dividing the corresponding
costs over the period of time by the total weight of castings manufactured during that span.
The case based reasoning methodology (explained later) facilitates retrieval of these rates
at the design stage. Further, the web implementation of the system enables updating the
rates for cost estimation.
11. 11
4. Integrated product process design
An accurate estimation of casting cost requires a detailed knowledge of the process. To
enable casting cost estimation at product design phase, a methodology for integrated
product process design has been developed. As mentioned earlier, process design involves
process planning and methoding. For process planning, a case based reasoning approach
using the nearest neighbour algorithm developed in an earlier investigation (Chougule and
Ravi 2004) has been employed. For methoding, a 3D casting design software has been
linked to the cost estimation program. Both casting process planning and methoding design
are briefly explained next.
4.1 Casting process planning
The case based reasoning (CBR) approach involves retrieving a similar previous case
(casting project) from the case base depending on part attributes, and adapting the process
plan of the retrieved case to the new case. This approach eliminates the need for
classification and coding (group technology), and enables better case retrieval. The
attributes that have been identified for retrieving a previous casting project (case) include:
• Casting metal/alloy
• Geometric attributes: maximum casting length, casting weight, minimum and
maximum wall thickness, core hole diameter, shape complexity
• Quality attributes: surface roughness, tolerance and maximum void size
• Production attributes: Order quantity, production rate, sample lead-time, and
production lead-time.
For case retrieval, the user specifies the values of the attributes and the corresponding
weights representing relative importance of attributes (Chougule and Ravi 2003). To
improve the efficiency of case retrieval, the case base is first screened for compatible
cases, and the nearest neighbour is then identified from the screened cases.
The first step in screening involves determination of the most suitable process for a new
product by comparing its attribute values with the capabilities of different metal-specific
processes stored in a database. The attributes used for these purpose include casting
material, weight, minimum section thickness, surface finish, tolerance and delivery
quantity (a subset of the attributes used for case retrieval). The casting processes covered
in the library include green sand casting, high pressure sand casting, shell mouldings, no
bake process, gravity die casting, low pressure die casting, high pressure die casting, wax
investment casting and foam investment casting. The cast metals include grey iron, ductile
iron, steel, aluminium, copper and zinc. Then the case base (database of previous projects)
is searched to shortlist the cases that are manufactured by the same process. This helps in
reducing the overall time for retrieving the most appropriate case, and prevents the
accidental retrieval of a case that may have high similarity value (explained later) but an
incompatible process. The nearest neighbour identification involves calculating the
similarity of the new case to the short-listed cases using the equation,
1
( , ) ( , )
n
i i i
i
Sim N P w sim n p
=
= ×∑ (18)
( , ) 1 ( , )i i i isim n p dist n p= − (19)
12. 12
2
( )( , )i i
n pdist n p i i−= (20)
where,
Sim(N,P)= Similarity of new case to previous case in the case base
sim(ni, pi)= Similarity of individual attribute values of new case to previous case
dist(ni, pi)= Distance between individual attribute values of new case to previous
case
ni = Value of attribute i of new case
pi = Value of attribute i of previous case in case base
wi = Weight of attribute i
n = Number of attributes
Based on these similarity values, the nearest old case (with respect to the new case) is
identified and its process plan is retrieved. In some instances, it may be necessary to
modify the retrieved process plan before adapting it to the new casting project. For this
purpose, a process planning library containing alternative methods for performing each
casting activity (sand preparation, moulding, core making, melting, etc.) has been
proposed. Each method is stored in terms of relevant steps and process parameters (with
values). For example, the library corresponding to core making has options hot box, cold
box, no bake and sodium silicate. To guide the users, and for semi-automatic modification
of the retrieved process plan, a knowledge base in the form of ‘if-then’ rules is currently
under development. Further, the system has been implemented in a web based
collaborative environment (mentioned later) facilitating involvement of foundry engineers
for process plan adaptation or further fine-tuning, if necessary. After case adaptation and
modification, the new case forms a part of case-base for future reference. As the case base
grows, the probability of finding a suitable matching case will increase, minimising the
need for case adaptation.
4.2 Methoding
The methoding (also called rigging) mainly involves designing the gating system (which
leads molten metal from the pouring ladle to the mould cavity) and the feeding system
(which compensates for volumetric shrinkage during casting solidification). Related
decisions include casting orientation and mould parting. The gating system comprises of
pouring basin, sprue, sprue well, runner(s), ingate(s) and filter(s). It is designed to fill the
mould cavity within a suitable range of time, distribute the metal uniformly and minimize
defects owing to either slow filling (misruns and cold shuts) or fast filling (mould erosion
and inclusions). The feeders are designed (in terms of location, shape and size) so that they
solidify later than the hottest spots inside the casting, and supply liquid metal needed to
compensate volumetric shrinkage during solidification.
A 3D casting design and analysis software called AutoCAST developed in our lab (Ravi et
al. 1999) has been used for methoding, and its functioning is briefly described here. The
program first carries out solidification simulation to identify the hottest region inside the
casting. The nearest top or side face is selected to connect a feeder. The feeder dimensions
are computed to ensure that the geometric modulus (ratio of volume to cooling surface
area) of the feeder is greater than that for the region around the hot spot, for a standard
13. 13
feeder shape (usually cylindrical, with height to diameter ratio ranging from 1.0 to 2.0).
The ingate is connected to a side feeder (if existing) or to the thickest section of the casting
around the parting line. The sprue location and runner layout are decided semi-
automatically. The pouring time is calculated using an empirical equation (different for
each metal-process combination) containing casting weight, average section thickness and
pouring temperature. This in turn drives the calculation of the dimensions of gating
channels. The 3D models of the feeder(s) and gating models are then generated by the
program itself and connected to the casting model. The number of cavities in the mould is
decided based on the size of the casting and standard sizes of moulds. Finally, the factor
for yield and metal to sand ratio are calculated as:
1
f g
y
c cast
w w
f
n w
+
= +
×
(21)
( ) ( )_metal sand c c cast f g sand l w h c cast f gr n V V V V n V V Vρ ρ × ×
⎡ ⎤= × × + + × − × + +⎣ ⎦ (22)
Where,
wf = Weight of all feeders per mould
wg = Weight of the entire gating system
Vlxwxh = Moulding box volume
The program enables even inexperienced users to come up with a fairly ‘good-first’
methoding design. An iteration of feeder and gating design for a typical casting, followed
by solidification simulation to verify its internal quality, is usually completed within an
hour.
5. Implementation and results
The overall methodology has been implemented in a web-based framework called WebICE
(Web-based Intelligent Collaborative Engineering) developed in our laboratory. The
WebICE facilitates web-based creation, updating and exchange of casting project data. The
project data is stored in a Casting Data Markup Language (CDML), defined using XML
(Ravi and Akarte 2002). The CDML consists of two parts: CDML tree and data blocks.
The CDML tree represents the hierarchical relationship between different types of
information essential for collaboration between product, tooling and foundry engineer,
whereas the data blocks are used for storing the actual project data. The hierarchical tree
structure enables easy identification of the desired information.
The actual working of system has been demonstrated with cost estimation of an industrial
body cap casting. The input to the system is a 3D model of the casting (in STL format),
metal name, production requirements (order quantity, production rate, sample lead time
and production lead time) and quality requirements (maximum void size, surface finish,
tolerance). The casting methoding software AutoCAST linked to WebICE automatically
computes the overall dimensions of the casting, minimum and maximum section thickness,
casting weight and number of cores. The values of these attributes are shown in table 4.
Based on the relevant attributes mentioned earlier, the nearest case (previous casting
project) is identified using case based reasoning methodology. The comparison of
attributes (mapped on 0-100 scale) of the nearest case (a pulley casting) and body cap is
shown in figure 2. Since the nearest case is similar to the present case, its process plan
14. 14
(methods, steps, process parameters) is retrieved and applied to the body cap (figure 3). If
necessary, the user can modify the retrieved process plan using the library.
Table 4. Input for cost estimation
Attribute Value
Material Grey cast iron
Maximum casting size 255 mm
Weight 14.35 kg
Minimum section thickness 12 mm
Maximum section thickness 36 mm
Number of cores 2
Minimum core size 46 mm
Maximum core size 95 mm
Shape complexity 28
Maximum void size 0.5 mm
Surface finish 8 μm
Tolerance 1 mm
Order quantity 5000 units
Production rate 25 per hour
Sample lead time 45 days
Production lead time 15 days
Maximumcastingsize
Castingweight
Mimimumsection
thickness
Maximumsection
thickness
Minimumcoresize
Maximumcoresize
Shapecomplexity
Surfaceroughness
Tolerance
Maximumvoidsize
Orderquantity
Productionrate
sampleleadtime
Productionleadtime
6
53.4
24.6
8.2
54.5
5.4
28
7.1
19.2
10
61.6
24.2
44.5
14.25
43.5
11.6
5.3
45.5
8.9
27
7.1
19.2
10
66.7
24.2
44.5
14.2
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Body Cap
Pulley
Figure 2. Comparison of retrieved case with new case
15. 15
Figure 3. Process plan (partial)
The casting model along with metal and major process parameters form the main input to
the methoding functions of AutoCAST. The results of feeding and gating design are passed
to the WebICE system (figure 4) for cost estimation (figure 5). The cost modifiers are
taken from the tables related to the cost model, based on product requirements and process
parameters. The cost elements of the body cap casting are summarized in table 5. The
results obtained are comparable with the actual casting cost calculated using the weight
based approach used in practice. The actual body cap cost supplied by the foundry is INR
500. This is arrived at by first calculating the average per kg rate of similar castings based
on cost accounting. The average rate (INR 35 per kg) x casting weight (14.35 kg) gives
INR 502.25 as the casting cost, which is rounded off to INR 500. However, the weight
based method cannot be used by design engineers, since they may not have access to the
detailed cost data of the supplier foundry. Also, this method does not give the cost break
up of new castings, which is valuable for identifying areas for cost reduction and for ‘what
if’ analysis at the design stage itself. The proposed model overcomes all these limitations
of the weight based method. It can be used for castings produced in job shop and mass
production foundries with equal accuracy.
17. 17
Table 5. Summary of cost (in Indian Rupees; 1 INR ≈ US$ 0.022)
Product: Body cap Material: Grey cast iron Part weight: 14.35 kg Part volume: 1.83x10-3
m3 Shape complexity: 28
Accuracy index: 35 Order quantity: 5000 Core weight: 2 kg
Cost Element Input from
product design
Input from process plan / foundry information Cost modifiers Unit/ total cost Cost
(INR)
Direct Material Part weight Equipments used (to select cost modifiers) fm=1.05, fp=1.07,
ff=1.07
20.00 INR/kg 345.10
Indirect
material
Part volume Mold box size = 450 x 450 x 250
Cavities per mould = 1, Feed aids = Nil
Gating and feeder volume = 1.092x10-3
m3
Mold sand type = Green sand
Core sand type = Hot box
fmould_rej = 1.01
fcore_rej = 1.02
frecycleI =0.10
Mold sand- 1.2 INR/kg
Core sand- 3.0 INR/kg
12.00
Labour Part weight
core weight
Time per component in min
Melting = 14.75
(Time per heat 80 min, labours involved 4, capacity 1.3 t/hr)
Core sand preparation = 1.5
(Time per batch 45 min, labours involved 3, capacity 250 kg)
Mold sand preparation = 0.0
(Continuous sand mixture hence labour time neglected)
Moulding = 3.0
Core making = 4.0
Shakeout = 1.0
Fettling = 5.0
fr=1.05,
fmould_rej = 1.01
fcore_rej = 1.02
60 INR/hr 32.00
Tooling Part volume,
accuracy index,
shape complexity,
order quantity
Production method 21420 4.30
Energy
(Melting +
other)
Part weight Tapping temperature = 1500 o
C
Yield = 0.76
fn=2, fy=1.3, fm=1.05,
fp=1.07, ff=1.07,
fr=1.05
4.00 INR/unit 60.80
Administration
overheads
Part weight Annual administrative cost = 3 000 000
Annual foundry turnover = 1000 t
3 INR/kg 41.85
Depreciation
overheads
Part weight Investment in equipment = 4 000 000
Equipment life = 30 years
Annual foundry turnover = 1000 t
0.15 INR/kg 2.25
Total cost = INR 498.30
18. 18
The web based implementation of system facilitates viewing of the results by all team
members (design, tooling and foundry) irrespective of their location. This can potentially
lead to discussions for identifying part, tooling or process parameters for overall cost
reduction. The team members can also adjust the cost rates (material, energy, labour,
etc.), which vary from one region to another, and cost factors, which depend on local
facilities.
6. Conclusion
A hybrid model combining analytical and parametric approaches, has been developed for
early cost estimation of castings, and implemented in an integrated product-process
design environment. A number of cost modifiers have been proposed to improve the
accuracy of cost estimation; this also enables fine-tuning and customisation, if necessary.
The model has been validated by an industrial example. The cost estimated by a product
designer (with little experience of the casting process, but using the proposed cost
estimation system) matched closely with that estimated by an experienced foundry
engineer. A systematic approach for cost estimation will give more accurate results and
better insights (cost breakups) than the weight based method currently used in practice.
Further, web-enabling of the entire system promotes collaboration between product
designer, tool-maker and foundry engineer for cost reduction.
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