An analytical cost estimation approach for generic sheet metal 3D models

This paper defines a systematic workflow for production cost estimation of sheet metal stamped components. The approach represents a solution toward the adoption of Design to Cost methods during early product design. It consists in a sequence of steps that, starting from a 3D CAD model with annotations (material, roughness and tolerances) and production information (batch and production volume) leads to the manufacturing cost through an analytic cost breakdown (raw material, stamping and accessory processes, setup and tooling). The calculation process mainly consists in a first step where geometric algorithms calculate the sheet metal blank (dimensions, shape, thickness) and specific product features (e.g. flanges, louvers, embossing, etc.). The following steps allow to calculate the raw material, the stamping process and the process-related parameters, which are the manufacturing cost drivers (e.g. press, stamping rate/sequence/force and die dimensions/weight). The manufacturing cost is the sum of the previous calculated items. Testing the approach for three different components, the average absolute deviation measured between the estimated and actual cost was less than 10% and such a result looks promising for adopting this method for evaluating alternative design solutions.

[1]  J. McCartney,et al.  The flattening of triangulated surfaces incorporating darts and gussets , 1999, Comput. Aided Des..

[2]  H. Bin,et al.  Optimal flattening of freeform surfaces based on energy model , 2004 .

[3]  S. S. Pande,et al.  Automatic recognition of features from freeform surface CAD models , 2008, Comput. Aided Des..

[4]  KEINVORNAME;;; Nagahanumaiah,et al.  An integrated framework for die and mold cost estimation using design features and tooling parameters , 2005 .

[5]  Zhong-Yi Cai,et al.  A simplified algorithm for planar development of 3D surface and its application in the blank design of sheet metal forming , 2007 .

[6]  Bugao Xu,et al.  A physically based method for triangulated surface flattening , 2006, Comput. Aided Des..

[7]  Nabil Gindy,et al.  Mathematical representation of feature conversion for CAD/CAM system integration , 2004 .

[8]  Charlie C. L. Wang,et al.  Surface flattening based on energy model , 2002, Comput. Aided Des..

[9]  Gila Molcho,et al.  Part cost estimation at early design phase , 2014 .

[10]  Yongsheng Ma,et al.  A hybrid cost estimation framework based on feature-oriented data mining approach , 2015, Adv. Eng. Informatics.

[11]  Vinod Laxman Hattalli,et al.  Sheet Metal Forming Processes – Recent Technological Advances , 2018 .

[12]  Shailendra Kumar,et al.  A Knowledge Based System for Selection of Components of Deep Drawing Die , 2012 .

[13]  Jian S. Dai,et al.  Product Cost Estimation: Technique Classification and Methodology Review , 2006 .

[14]  Essam Shehab,et al.  Manufacturing cost modelling for concurrent product development , 2001 .

[15]  Juntong Xi,et al.  An energy-based surface flattening method for flat pattern development of sheet metal components , 2013 .

[16]  G. A. Britton,et al.  A knowledge-based blackboard framework for stamping process planning in progressive die design , 2005 .

[17]  Li Zheng,et al.  An Intelligent Feature-Based Design for Stamping System , 2001 .

[18]  W. Schafer,et al.  Cost estimation of automotive sheet metal components using knowledge-based engineering and case-based reasoning , 2009, 2009 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management.

[19]  Orlando Durán,et al.  Comparisons between two types of neural networks for manufacturing cost estimation of piping elements , 2012, Expert Syst. Appl..

[20]  Jituo Li,et al.  Flattening triangulated surfaces using a mass-spring model , 2005 .

[21]  Dirk Cattrysse,et al.  Cost estimation for sheet metal parts using multiple regression and artificial neural networks: A case study , 2008 .

[22]  Richard Curran,et al.  Estimation of aircraft component production cost using knowledge based engineering techniques , 2015, Adv. Eng. Informatics.

[23]  Wen-Ren Jong,et al.  Automatic process planning of mold components with integration of feature recognition and group technology , 2015 .

[24]  Han Wang,et al.  An elastic approach for developing non-developable sheets , 2016 .