JP7702326B2 - Processing cost estimation method and processing cost estimation system - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to technology for estimating the processing costs involved in processing materials to produce products of a designed shape.

Patent Document 1 describes an automatic quotation method that brings quotation results closer to the range of the user's desired price or desired delivery date with a small number of trials. More specifically, in the automatic quotation method described in Patent Document 1, after the price or delivery date of the item group is determined in the item group price/delivery date determination step, the manufacturing conditions for at least one of the multiple items are notified in the notification step. The notified manufacturing conditions are such that the price or delivery date of the item group determined when the manufacturing conditions are changed is closer to the desired price or delivery date than the price or delivery date of the item group determined before the manufacturing conditions were changed.

JP 2019-3698 A

However, in the automatic quotation method described in Patent Document 1, the manufacturing conditions that are notified determine a group of items with prices that are closest to the user's desired price, and do not take into consideration changing the design shape to a shape with a lower price.

The purpose of this disclosure is to provide a technology that, when the processing cost of processing materials to produce a product of an initial design shape exceeds a target cost, can modify the initial design shape to fall within the target cost and present multiple modified shapes.

To achieve the above object, the processing cost estimation method disclosed herein includes a calculation process for calculating the processing cost when processing a material made of an initial design material based on initial design data indicating the initial design shape of the product to generate a product of the initial design shape, a comparison process for comparing the processing cost calculated by the calculation process with a target cost, a modification process for modifying the initial design shape if the comparison process determines that the processing cost exceeds the target cost, a repetition process for calculating the processing cost when generating a product of a shape modified by the modification process in a calculation process and repeating the modification process until the calculated processing cost falls within the target cost, and a presentation process for presenting multiple modified shapes when the processing cost falls within the target cost as a result of the repetition process, together with the processing costs.

According to the present disclosure, if the processing cost of processing materials to produce a product of the initial design shape exceeds the target cost, it is possible to modify the initial design shape so that it falls within the target cost, and present multiple modified shapes.

2 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of a PC for implementing a processing cost estimation method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a procedure for processing cost estimation processing. 1A is a front view, FIG. 1B is a plan view, and FIG. 1C is a side view showing an example of a product in an initial design shape. 4A, 4B and 4C are a plan view, a perspective view and a cross-sectional view showing how a part of the initial design shape of FIG. 3 is processed. 5A, 5B and 5C are a plan view, a perspective view and a cross-sectional view showing how a part of the initial design shape of FIG. 4 is changed to another shape and the changed shape is processed. 4A is an oblique view showing how a part of an initial design shape different from the initial design shape of FIG. 3 is processed, and FIG. 4B is an oblique view showing how that part is changed to another shape and the changed shape is processed. 7A is an oblique view showing a part of another initial design shape which is further different from the initial design shapes of FIGS. 3 and 6 , and FIGS. 7B and 7C are views showing the surface roughness when the part is machined with the tool shown in FIG. 6A . FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a hole drilling process time according to a tapping standard.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the control configuration of a PC1 that realizes a processing cost estimation method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

The PC 1 includes a user IF 10, a display 20, a CPU 30, a memory 40, and a communication IF 50. The user IF 10, the display 20, the CPU 30, the memory 40, and the communication IF 50 are interconnected via a bus 60. Note that IF is an abbreviation for interface.

User IF10 typically consists of a keyboard and a mouse.

The display 20 is composed of a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display, a drive circuit for driving the display device, and the like. When a touch panel type display is used as the display 20, the user can perform input operations by touching input buttons on the screen. Therefore, in this case, the display 20 also serves as the user IF 10.

The CPU 30 executes various application programs (hereinafter abbreviated as "apps"), firmware, etc., including the processing cost estimation processing program described below with reference to FIG. 2.

The memory 40 includes a ROM, a RAM, a HDD, an SSD, and an optical disk drive. The data storage area 40a of the memory 40 is an area for storing data and the like required when the CPU 30 executes a program for processing cost estimation processing and the like. The control program area 40b of the memory 40 is an area for storing the OS, information processing programs, and various other applications and firmware.

The communication IF 50 connects the PC 1 to a communication network (not shown). Examples of the communication network include a wired or wireless LAN, a WAN, a USB, a Bluetooth (registered trademark), and an NFC network. Therefore, when the processing cost estimation program is not stored in the memory 40, it can be downloaded from, for example, an external server (not shown) via the communication IF 50.

2 shows the procedure of the processing cost estimation process executed by the PC 1, particularly the CPU 30. The processing cost estimation process calculates the processing cost when cutting a material made of an initial design material using a machine tool to generate a product of an initial design shape, and if the calculated processing cost exceeds a target cost, changes the initial design shape so that the processing cost falls within the target cost, and displays multiple changed design shapes. The processing cost estimation process is started when the user of the PC 1 issues an instruction to start the processing cost estimation process, for example, from the user IF 10. In the following explanation of the procedure of each process, steps are represented as "S".

In FIG. 2, first, the CPU 30 reads the initial design data of the product (S10). The initial design data is three-dimensional data that indicates the initial design shape of the product. For example, if multiple pieces of readable initial design data are stored in the server, the names of the multiple pieces of initial design data are displayed on the display 20, and when one of the names is selected via the user IF 10, the CPU 30 downloads the initial design data of that name from the server and reads it into the memory 40. The read initial design data is stored, for example, in a work area (not shown) of the memory 40.

Figure 3 shows the loaded three-dimensional initial design data expressed in two-dimensional drawings, with Figures 3(a) to 3(c) showing a front view, a plan view, and a side view, respectively. This initial design data shows the initial design shape of the product, a metal block 100, and shows the initial design shape of the product that will be produced by cutting a material made of the initial design material, for example an aluminum square bar. Note that when referring to directions in Figure 3, the directions of the arrows shown in the figure should be used. The same applies to Figures 4 and 5.

The metal block 100 is produced by cutting a square bar and milling the resulting workpiece. The shapes that make up the metal block 100 mainly include a notch 100d, a groove 100c, a drilled hole 100b, and screw holes 100a and 100e.

The notch 100d is created using a square end mill. Figure 4 shows how the notch 100d is created using a square end mill 200. Figure 4(a) shows a plan view, Figure 4(b) shows a perspective view, and Figure 4(c) shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A of Figure 4(a). Since the notch 100d is U-shaped in plan view, it is necessary to use a square end mill 200 with an outer diameter φa that corresponds to the size of the angle R of the two corners 100d1. The groove 100c is also created using a square end mill, but a square end mill with an outer diameter that corresponds to the width of the groove 100c, or the vertical width in Figure 3(c), is used.

The drilled hole 100b is created using a drill with a diameter corresponding to the diameter. The screw holes 100a and 100e are created using a tap with an outer diameter corresponding to the diameter.

Returning to FIG. 2, the CPU 30 receives processing information (S12). Specifically, the processing information is information indicating how each shape constituting the metal block 100 is processed using which tool. This information can be input, for example, by displaying the three-dimensional shape of the metal block 100 on the display 20 based on the read initial design data, and the user specifying each shape constituting the metal block 100 one by one and determining the tool and process to be used to process the shape. Alternatively, the tool and process to be used to process each shape may be determined in advance for each shape, and the table data may be stored in memory 40 or an external server in association with the initial design data, and the information may be read and received. The received processing information is stored in the work area of the memory 40, similar to the initial design data read in S10.

Next, the CPU 30 accepts the constraining shape (S14). The constraining shape is a shape that does not require the shape change in S24 described later. Each shape constituting the metal block 100 can be designated as to whether it is allowed to be changed by the shape change in S24. In other words, the constraining shape means a shape for which prohibition of the shape change in S24 is designated. The permission/prohibition of the shape change may be designated by the user while designating each shape one by one, as in the input of the processing information, or the permission/prohibition of the shape change may be designated in advance for each shape, and stored as table data in the memory 40 or an external server in association with the initial design data. The accepted constraining shape is stored in the work area of the memory 40.

Next, the CPU 30 prioritizes the change items (S16). Prioritization information is also stored in the work area of the memory 40. In the shape change of S24, as described below, one change item is selected from the multiple change items, and the shape change is performed for the selected change items. Prioritizing change items means assigning a priority to each change item. As with the specification of permission/prohibition of the shape change and the input of the processing information, the user may assign a priority to each change item while specifying each change item one by one, or a priority may be determined for each change item in advance and stored as table data in the memory 40 or an external server in association with the initial design data.

Next, the CPU 30 accepts the target cost (S18). The target cost may be accepted as it is entered by the user via the user IF 10. The accepted target cost is stored in the work area of the memory 40.

Next, the CPU 30 calculates the processing cost (S20). The processing cost is calculated by adding up the cost according to the time required to cut the workpiece, the material cost of the workpiece, and the costs of surface treatment and heat treatment of the metal block 100. If no shape changes have been made in S24, the CPU 30 calculates the processing cost based on the initial design data read in S10 and the processing information received in S12.

Next, the CPU 30 compares the target cost received in S18 with the processing cost calculated in S20 (S22), and if the processing cost exceeds the target cost (S22: NO), the CPU 30 changes the shape (S24). In this embodiment, there are seven change items for which the shape is changed: corner R, number of holes, material, tolerance, surface treatment, heat treatment, and surface roughness. Each change item is prioritized as described above. If the priorities are now assigned in this order from 1 to 7, the CPU 30 first selects the corner R as the change item. The corner R indicates the corner portion included in the shape of the product, that is, the corner R of the two corners 100d1 (see FIG. 3) in the metal block 100. The CPU 30 then changes the size of the corner R to be larger.

Figure 5 shows how the notch 110d is generated when the size of the angle R of the two corners 100d1 (see Figure 4) is changed to a larger value. Figure 5(a) shows a plan view, Figure 5(b) shows a perspective view, and Figure 5(c) shows a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of Figure 5(a). As shown in Figure 5, the size of the angle R of the two corners 110d1 constituting the notch 110d is larger than the size of the angle R of the two corners 100d1. The reason for changing the size of the angle R in this way is to change the square end mill 210 to one with a larger outer diameter, to an outer diameter φb in Figure 5. For the same type of square end mill, the larger the outer diameter, the higher the rigidity of the tool, so the cutting length into the workpiece can be increased. As can be seen by comparing Figure 4(c) and Figure 5(c), the cutting length of the square end mill 210 is longer than the cutting length of the square end mill 200. By lengthening the cut length in this way, the time required to create the notch 110d is shorter than the time required to create the notch 100d. As a result, the cutting processing time for the workpiece is shortened, and the processing cost can be reduced.

Next, the CPU 30 selects the number of holes as the item to be changed. The holes are holes included in the product, that is, the above-mentioned drilled holes 100b and the screw holes 100a and 100e in the metal block 100. The CPU 30 then changes the number of holes to be reduced. As described above, the drilled holes 100b are made using a drill, and the screw holes 100a and 100e are made using a tap. Since both the drilled holes 100b and the screw holes 100a and 100e require processing time to make holes, if the number of holes is reduced, the processing time is shortened accordingly, and the processing cost can be reduced. Note that the size of the hole diameter may be used as the item to be changed instead of the number of holes. Also, it is possible to change both the number and the diameter of the holes.

Figure 8 shows an example of the hole drilling processing time according to the tapping standard. In Figure 8, "n" in the tapping standard Mn (n = 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10) indicates the outer diameter (mm) of the screw. As shown in Figure 8, for the same processing range, the processing time is shorter when using a tap that drills a screw hole with a larger outer diameter of the screw to be screwed. Therefore, by changing the diameter of the screw hole, the processing cost can be reduced. The same situation applies to drilled holes.

Next, the CPU 30 selects the material as the item to be changed. The material is the material of the workpiece. The CPU 30 then changes the material to one that is less expensive. Alternatively, the material may be changed to a softer material so that the processing time is shortened. This can reduce the processing cost.

The CPU 30 similarly selects each of the change items of tolerance, surface treatment, heat treatment, and surface roughness in order to make changes so as to reduce the processing cost. Specific examples of surface treatment include painting, plating, anodizing, and shot blasting.

Figure 6(a) shows how a part of the initial design shape indicated by initial design data different from the initial design data loaded in S10 above is pocket machined. Figure 6(b) shows how that part is changed to another shape, and the changed shape is pocket machined.

In the product 120 in FIG. 6(a), a hole 120a with a rectangular cross section is formed in the initial design data. The end 120a1 of the bottom surface of the hole 120a is to be machined with a concave R. A tool used to form the hole 120a with this shape is, for example, a ball end mill 300. The ball end mill 300 is an end mill with a spherical tip 300b1 of the cutting edge 300b. By using the ball end mill 300, it is possible to machine the end 120a1 with R, but the efficiency of pocket machining is poor.

In contrast, as in product 130 in FIG. 6(b), if hole 130a is changed to one in which the cross section is rectangular like hole 120a but the bottom end is not rounded, the pocket can be machined using a square end mill 220 with a flat tip on blade 220b. Pocket machining using the square end mill 220 is more efficient than pocket machining using a ball end mill 300, so the pocket machining time is shortened, thereby reducing the processing cost.

Figure 7 (a) shows a portion 140a of the initial design shape of product 140, which is represented by initial design data different from the initial design data loaded in S10 above. This portion of shape 140a is a convex R shape. An example of a tool used to machine shape 140a is an end mill equipped with a specially shaped blade called a formed blade. However, since the R shapes that can be machined are limited, when machining an R shape using this end mill, the R shape may be slightly different from shape 140a. In other words, an end mill that can machine an R shape close to that of shape 140a is selected and used.

Figures 7(b) and 7(c) show how shape 140a is machined with the ball end mill 300 shown in Figure 6(a) above. The difference between Figures 7(b) and 7(c) is the difference in surface roughness after machining. The rougher the surface roughness, the shorter the machining time with the ball end mill 300, which reduces the machining cost.

In this way, the CPU 30 selects change items according to the priority order, and if the product contains a shape that can be changed that belongs to the selected change items, it changes the shape to one that reduces the processing cost. However, the CPU 30 refers to the constraint shapes stored in the work area of the memory 40, and does not change shapes for which prohibition of shape changes is specified. The priority order may also be changed from the priority order set in S16 above. For example, if the comparison in S22 above shows that the processing cost significantly exceeds the target cost, it is possible to raise the priority order so that change items with the largest reduction in processing cost are selected early.

After the shape change, the CPU 30 returns the process to S20 and calculates the processing cost for the product after the shape change. Here, the timing at which the CPU 30 returns the process from S24 to S20 may be each time one change item is selected and a shape change is made to that change item, or each time a shape change is made to two or more of the selectable change items.

Next, the CPU 30 compares the target cost with the calculated processing cost, and if the processing cost is within the target cost (S22: YES), the CPU 30 displays the modified shape and processing cost on the display 20. The modified shape may be displayed, for example, as a three-dimensional image, but may also be displayed as a two-dimensional image. At this time, it is preferable to change the color of the modified shape or highlight it so that the modified shape can be seen. The shape before the modification may also be displayed in correspondence with the modified shape. Furthermore, when displaying the processing cost, it is preferable to also display the amount reduced by the shape modification. Furthermore, for drilled holes and screw holes, the processing cost per location is displayed, and the amount reduced when the number or diameter of the holes is changed is also displayed. In addition, for surface roughness and tolerance, the specified value and the amount reduced when the value is changed to be rougher or looser than that are also displayed. Furthermore, for the material, the material cost when the product is manufactured using a material with a lower unit price is displayed.

Next, the CPU 30 determines whether the process of S26 has been repeated a predetermined number of times (S28), and if it has not yet been repeated the predetermined number of times (S28: NO), the CPU 30 proceeds to the process of S24 above and performs the shape change again. At this time, the CPU 30 changes the conditions for the shape change so that the second shape change does not produce the same results as the previous shape change, and then returns the process to S24. The conditions for the shape change can be, for example, a condition that an already selected change item is not to be selected, or a condition that, when the same change item is selected, the shape of the area already changed with that change item is excluded and the shape of the other areas is changed.

If the process of S26 has been repeated a predetermined number of times (S28: YES), the CPU 30 ends the processing cost estimation process.

As described above, the processing cost estimation process of this embodiment includes a calculation process (S20) for calculating the processing cost when cutting a material made of an initial design material based on three-dimensional data indicating the initial design shape of a product to generate a product of the initial design shape, a comparison process (S22) for comparing the processing cost calculated by the calculation process with a target cost, a modification process (S24) for modifying the initial design shape when the processing cost exceeds the target cost by the comparison process, and a repetition process (S22) for calculating the processing cost when generating a product of a shape after modification by the modification process by the calculation process, and repeating the modification process until the calculated processing cost falls within the target cost.
The method includes a display process (S26, S28) for displaying, on the display 20, a plurality of shapes after the change when the processing cost falls within the target cost through the repeated processing, together with the processing costs.

In this way, in the processing cost estimation process of this embodiment, if the processing cost exceeds the target cost, the initial design shape is changed, and the design shape is repeatedly changed until the processing cost falls within the target cost. When the processing cost falls within the target cost, multiple changed shapes are displayed on the display 20 together with the processing costs, so that the user can select the changed shape that suits his or her intention from the multiple displayed changed shapes and processing costs. This makes it possible to quickly perform shape changes that were previously time-consuming, as required by repeated shape changes based on the user's sense, so that the processing cost falls within the target cost, and makes it possible to perform shape changes efficiently.

In this embodiment, the three-dimensional data is an example of "initial design data." Cutting is an example of "processing." Displaying on the display 20 is an example of "presentation."

In addition, the initial design shape is composed of multiple partial shapes, and the shape to be changed by the modification process is some or all of the multiple partial shapes. This allows shape modifications to be made in more detail.

In addition, priorities can be assigned to the multiple partial shapes, and when priorities are assigned to the multiple partial shapes, the modification process modifies some or all of the multiple partial shapes that make up the initial design shape according to the priorities. This results in a shape modification according to the priorities, and multiple modified shapes that are closest to the user's intended shape modification are displayed.

The method also includes an update process that updates the priorities assigned to multiple partial shapes depending on the amount by which the processing cost exceeds the target cost. This makes it possible to display multiple modified shapes when the processing cost falls within the target cost with a small number of repetitions.

In addition, each of the multiple partial shapes can be associated with whether it can be changed by the modification process, and the modification process does not modify the partial shapes associated with it. This allows shape modifications to be performed while excluding partial shapes that cannot be modified, making it possible to perform flexible shape modifications.

The calculation process calculates the processing cost when the initial design material is changed to another material, and the display process displays the processing cost before and after changing to another material. This allows the user to know the degree of reduction in processing cost when the material is changed.

Note that this disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the disclosure.

(1) In the above embodiment, three-dimensional data is given as an example of initial design data, but the data is not limited to this and may be two-dimensional data, to which the method disclosed herein can be similarly applied.

(2) In the above embodiment, cutting is given as an example of processing, but the present disclosure can be applied to other processing methods such as sheet metal processing and grinding.

(3) In the above embodiment, displaying on the display 20 is given as an example of presentation, but this is not limiting, and the user may be notified by voice. Also, in addition to displaying on the display 20, the user may be notified by voice.

(4) In the above embodiment, the processing cost estimation process is executed by the PC 1, but this is not limited to the above, and the process may be executed by a machine tool that produces the product. In this case, the user IF 10, the display 20, and the memory 40 may each be provided separately.

1...PC, 10...user IF, 20...display, 30...CPU, 40...memory, 50...communication IF, 100...metal block, 100a, 100e...screw holes, 100b...drilled holes, 100c...groove, 100d...notch, 100d1...corner, 200...square end mill, 300...ball end mill.

Claims (5)

a calculation step of calculating a processing cost for processing a material made of an initial design material based on initial design data indicating an initial design shape of a product, and generating a product having the initial design shape;
a comparison step of comparing the processing cost calculated by the calculation step with a target cost;
a modification step of modifying the initial design shape when the processing cost exceeds the target cost as a result of the comparison step;
a repeating step of calculating a processing cost required to generate a product having a shape changed by the changing step in the calculating step, and repeating the changing step until the calculated processing cost falls within the target cost;
a presentation step of presenting a plurality of the shapes after the change when the processing cost falls within the target cost by the repeating step, together with the processing costs;
A processing cost estimation method comprising:
The initial design shape is composed of a plurality of partial shapes;
The shape to be changed by the changing step is a part or the whole of the plurality of partial shapes,
The plurality of sub-shapes may be prioritized;
When the plurality of partial shapes are prioritized, the change step changes a part or all of the plurality of partial shapes constituting the initial design shape in accordance with the priority order;
The processing cost estimation method further comprises:
an updating step of updating the priorities assigned to the plurality of partial shapes according to an amount by which the processing cost exceeds the target cost ;
Methods for estimating machining costs. Each of the plurality of partial shapes may be associated with whether or not it can be changed by the changing step,
In the change process, the partial shape associated with the no-change is not changed.
The method for estimating processing costs according to claim 1 . The objects to be changed by the change process include the corner R of the product, the number of holes, the size of the holes, the material, the tolerance, the surface treatment, the heat treatment, and the surface roughness.
The method for estimating processing costs according to claim 1 or 2 . In the calculation step, a processing cost when the initial design material is changed to another material is calculated,
In the presenting step, the processing costs before and after changing to the other material are presented.
The processing cost estimation method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . A memory for storing initial design data indicating an initial design shape of a product;
A display and
a controller that executes a calculation process that calculates a processing cost when processing a material made of an initial design material based on the initial design data stored in the memory and generating a product of the initial design shape; a comparison process that compares the processing cost calculated by the calculation process with a target cost; a modification process that modifies the initial design shape when the processing cost exceeds the target cost by the comparison process; an iterative process that calculates by the calculation process a processing cost when generating a product of a shape changed by the modification process and repeats the modification process until the calculated processing cost falls within the target cost; and a display process that displays on the display a plurality of the changed shapes together with the processing costs when the processing cost falls within the target cost by the iterative process.
Equipped with
The initial design shape is composed of a plurality of partial shapes;
the shape to be changed by the change process is a part or the whole of the plurality of partial shapes;
The plurality of sub-shapes may be prioritized;
When the priorities are assigned to the plurality of partial shapes, the modification process modifies a part or all of the plurality of partial shapes constituting the initial design shape in accordance with the priorities;
The controller further comprises:
executing an update process for updating the priorities assigned to the plurality of partial shapes according to an amount by which the processing cost exceeds the target cost;
Processing cost estimation system.

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