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Applying Cost To A Material

adam.mangan
Contributor

Applying Cost To A Material

adam.mangan
Contributor
Contributor

Hi, 

 

I was wondering is it possible to add a cost to a material, i know of the other solutions were you add cost to the iProperties of a part, this is not what i want. Im talking in terms of adding a cost to a finish, for example. If i want a powder coat finish, i would apply a cost to the material finish "powder coat" and then when i applied it to the product, it would give me an overall cost of using the finish "powder coat". Allowing me to know how much it would cost to use different finishes on the product.

 

Many thanks. 

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SharkDesign
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Mentor

No.

You have to define the cost of the coating in your iLogic code. It's better this way anyway because it's easier to update when it inevitably changes. 

How are you calculating the cost anyway?

Would need a factor that you multiply the surface area by, or it is a general amount just added on?

Anyway, it would have to be done in iLogic, i.e. you loop through all parts, look at the appearance of the part, calculate the cost and then write that value somewhere. 

 

 

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adam.mangan
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Cost is calculated by a pre set cost from factory, however this will fluctuate. Most likely using the method you mentioned, using a formula multiplying the surface area. My ILogic skills are limited and i assume this would have to be a complex code to do something like this. 

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SharkDesign
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I basically multiply the mass by an amount just to get an estimate for zinc or anodise. 

Powder coat is basically an amount dumped on at the end because it varies so much.

 

 

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adam.mangan
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Great, so i can write formulas in Ilogic code, ive never done this before and am only aware of a few of the system commands i.e isactive etc. You multiply the mass of the component by the amount of ml required? is this done through the iProperties command? 

mass = iProperties.Mass

Many thanks 

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SharkDesign
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That code will give you the mass of the file the rule is in, nothing else. You have to loop through everything and depending on what method you use there's different ways to find the mass. Appearance is even  more confusing. 

 

This is really not an easy task for your first iLogic code. You'd be better off asking in the iLogic forum, basically for someone to do it for you. 

 

I can't share my code because basically my company has paid me to write it, but it's taken a really long time and is still not perfect. 

 

Here's a description of some of the issues I have gone through to do this:

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/inventor-forum/calculate-the-cost-of-a-frame/m-p/10723966/highlight/t...

 

 

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adam.mangan
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Great thanks, Not exactly my first code, however as i stated previously i have used and written other code but very basic compared to doing something like this. Thats completely fair, my company are requesting the same from me, to create something like this for them, but with obvious lack of experience it will be an interesting journey coming up with a solution.

 

Many thanks.

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mcgyvr
Consultant
Consultant

@adam.mangan  Here is some ilogic code to calculate surface area and the ability to remove internal faces if thats an issue for you...

https://clintbrown.co.uk/2019/09/28/assembly-surface-areas-for-paint-or-coatings/

 

Here is some VBA that gives a list of all painted areas..

https://adndevblog.typepad.com/manufacturing/2015/10/list-painted-area-sizes.html

 

and check out the code from pball here which could be very useful for you too.. You can adjust it to do your costing calculations using the surface areas it calculates.

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/inventor-forum/how-do-i-get-inventor-to-calculate-and-sum-up-painted-...

 

 



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