In DigiFabster you can use different approaches for estimating the manufacturing price of a certain part or a feature. You can go either Cost-based or Time-based way while both of them can be beneficial for your business.
The Time-based approach has a much higher granularity and may look more familiar.
In this article we're going to go over the new Time-based approach that you now can implement via Quoting Copilot.
You can also do it via Machine & Material Settings by following this guide.
We recommend you start with creating a new separate machine so you can test out the new settings. You can make it available only in the Internal Quotation Tool with a "Limit to Internal Quotation only" toggle below the Machine Info.
Time-based price calculation is currently available only for Milling (incl. 3-,4-,5-axis)
Open the Quoting Copilot
Go to your machine and materials settings, expand the machine's materials and click the Settings icon next to the material you'd like to edit.
You can also open any material in the Copilot from the material settings page:
Select a model
When the Copilot is open the first sample model will be preselected. You can switch between models and upload the new ones with this button:
Set up the programming costs
First you'd need to set up the hourly rates of your operator and programmer just by clicking these numbers.
When the rates are specified you can start tweaking the time needed for each type of time expenses.
We suggest using two types of time expenses:
Non-recurring costs for new products
These are one-time expenses associated with setting up the production process for new products. This would include setting up the CAM program for the first time, preparing or ordering jigs and fixtures specific to the part, etc. In the Copilot, Non-recurring costs can be switched off at will.
Recurring costs for repeat orders.
These expenses occur with repeat orders and are calculated on a per-line item basis. They include tweaking the existing CAM program for a specific tool or machine, getting the existing jigs and fixtures from the warehouse and set up, etc.
You can see the calculation results in the last columns where all the minutes are summed up and multiplied by the rates below.
On the right side you'll see the preliminary calculated price per piece. Here you can switch off the Non-recurring costs, try out different Priority, Quantity and Tolerance options and save all the settings by clicking the "Accept Values" button.
Set up the Features
In this table, all the recognized features in the model are shown in the first column.
The list of the comparable features created in your machine is shown in the second column.
To start the estimating features check if all the recognized features have their corresponding comparable feature in the second column. If not, create one just by clicking the Plus icon in the table cell.
This will open a modal window where you can specify the supported range with Max Angle, Min Radius and Ratio and set up the times per each type of expense.
You can also switch between different Thread types with a click on a Swap icon.
Once it's done, click "Save to machine" if you want to save this feature or "Apply" if you want to test it out first or use it for the current quote only. You can save all the settings later by clicking "Accept Values" in the total block on the right side of the page.
To start estimating features check if all the rates are specified correctly in the rows at the bottom of the table.
Then review the time per each feature and adjust the operator involvement if needed.
Set up the material cost
Adjust the Price per kilogram of the material here:
In DigiFabster, you have different options to calculate the cost of material (such as Bar Stocks, Round Stock or Price per kg).
But currently the Quoting Copilot works only with a "Price per kg" method.
Clamping and Jigs & Fixtures
Set up the time per clamp in the Clamping block:
You can specify the fixed cost for the production of a work-holding device (such as a Jig or Fixtures). This will be counted as a non-recurring cost.
Machine settings
Here you can adjust the speed of the machine per each operation:
Cost & Price (earlier, alternative Pricing Approach)
Cost & Price block contains all the fields that are used for a Cost-based pricing approach.
If you want to go Time-based only, you can set all these values to zero so they don't affect the pricing.
Unlock the full power of CNC Quoting Copilot
With the Quoting Copilot you now can quote parts, tweak line item price and adjust the pricing parameters of your machines and materials in one place.
Learn how to use the Quoting Copilot in your quoting process in our new guide.