Material Volume

The material volume (V) includes the material that is required to manufacture the component. The cost estimating tool takes into account the waste coefficient (Wc) according to the process and the shape complexity.

The original Process Selection tool had a volume calculator. However, with the advent of 3D CAD solid modelling tools this is not needed as the volume could be read directly from the CAD model of the part being analysed.

The weight of an item can be entered to directly access the cost of material. This might be helpful when reverse engineering competitors components.

Note: all the calculations are conducted in mm3. Should it be required unit convertors can be added to both the input and output side of the estimating tool.