Engineering Costsand ProductionEconomics, 33 ( 1987) 55-63

Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam - Printed in The Netherlands

Centre for ApplicationsSoftware and Technology (CAST), University of Edinburgh, I Roxburgh Street, Edinburgh EH$ gTA

le
Department of Management Sciences, University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (lJMlST1, P.Q. BOX 88,
Manchester M60 100 (United Kingdom)

This paper outlines a computer-aidedinter-
activeprocess planning and estimating system
for use in a jobing foundry. The focus of the sys-
tem is estimatingcasting and core weight,and
manufacturing time and cost in the moulding,
core-making and dressing departments. The
system is comprised of six modules and has a
feed-back loop whichcan be usedfor comparing
the actualand estimatedweightsand times, and
automaticallyupdating the current man-hours
per tonne in the moulding, core-making and
dressing departments. To test the industrial
applicabilityof the system, datafrom bothfer-
rous and non-ferrousfoundries have been used.
Actual weight and time data for around 200
castings were compared withthat estimatedby
the system. The averagevariationon weightand
time were 5. I % and 6.0%for castingsand 6.1%
and 7.0% for cores respectively. When com-
pared withthe manual method, the averageper-
centage savingin time to produce an estimation
and planning sheet was86.0%. In addition,the
planning sheet produced by the system is more
consistentand complete than those derived by
manual means.

n computerise? ebti-
Against this back-
the point that the
56

the complexity of factors involved in the plan-

ning and esiimating process. These and other
reasons arc discussed in some detail by numer-
ous authors including Seman [ 41, Watts [ $61,
Trinder and Moss [ 71 and Corbett [ 81. It is
also interesting to report that literature sur-
veys by Ajmal [ 91, Knight [ 10,111, bibliogra-
phies produced by the British Nuclear Fuel
[ 121, and the Institution of Production Engi-
neers [ 131 indicate that little has been pub- Module 5 I
FEED-BACK 8

lished concerning the application of computer-

aided techniques for estimating and process
I
1
PEFRBWWCE
ANALYSIS I
I

Fig. 1. The modules of the process planning and estimating

planning in a foundry environment. *
Whilst there are a number of commercially
available packages (e.g. Baker Perkins [ 141,
BCIRA [ 151, GATEWAY [ 161, DEWTEC
[ 171, FORUM [ 181 and NOVACAST [ 191)
for cost and weight estimation, they have a
number of limitations, including:
no facility for estimating the manufacturing
times in moulding, core-making and dress-
ing departments;
no automatic mechanism in such packages
to compare the estimated against actual
weights and times in order to improve the
performance and efficiency of the system;
lack of flexibility in handling direrent grades
of material for casting, coremaking and
moulding; and
there is often no measure of any production
parameters (e.g. sand to metal ratio, yield
ratio, etc. ) .
This paper outlines a simple-to-use interac-
tive computer-aide
system.
kilogram up to 30 tonnes. The average weight
of casting produced is around 155 tonnes per
week. The system, although developed in con-
junction with Company A, was designed as a
general purpose model, and can be modified
with little alteration to suit most jobing foun-
dries. The system was also tested with castings
from a non-ferrous foundry (Company
which specialises in the production of non-fer-
rous castings for valves and fittings.
The system has been organised in an inte-
grated modular format as shown in Fig. 1. Fig-
ure 2 illustrates a schematic view of the system.
There are a number of sub-routines in each of
the six modules, every one of which has a spe-
cific function. In addition to functional sub-
accessing information
routines also for
 57

I DISTRIBUTIONTO RELATED AREAS

I

Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the computer-aided process planning and estimating system for use in a jobbing foundry.

weight of casting, core-making and moulding cost esti tie

material. It also determines the sand to metal
ratio. Any casting can be broken down into a
series of simple shapes. Once the dimensions
of the shape elements have een defined, the
volume and hence the weight may be calcu-
lated. The mathematical formulae for 22 dif-
ferent shape codes are contained in the current
module these may be mended, deleted or
added to actor
determine the weight, the volume and density
of the material is required. The c odule makes
This module is used to estimate the times
and direct costs in moulding, core-making and
dressing departments in the foundry on the
basis of man-hours per tonne of casting. This
is an average value based on the tonnage of
castings produced in a particular casting bay
over a period of time. In large jobbing foun-
es of castings are produced in
the foundry, called castings
e, Company A has three cast-

ning engineer has determined the casting

wc:ight,they then identify the casting bay where
the casting is going to be produced, and all the
necessary information is retrieved for estimat-
ing the labour time in moulding, core-making
and dressing departments. Having established
the manufacturing time, the labour cost can be
determined by retrieving the appropriate cost
rate for each work entre. Similarly, the casting,
core-making and moulding material cos
determined.
nical a
This may be used for the management of the
database. It offers retrieval, amendment and
editing records from the data base and prints
out summaries in the format required. The
module has five major types of date file:
material specifications;
methods and time standards;
actual estimation and process planning;
current estimation and process planning;
and
casting bay code.
The module may be used to estimate the
density and cost per unit weight ofa composi-
tion of casting material, core mixture or a mix-
ture ofmoulding sa . Any one of the following
options may be us
combination by percentage by vol
combination by pert
combination in any
and
could be drawn only to those items which
deviate from the plan and estimate. T
ule of the system may be used to:
input the actual weights of casting, core-
making and moulding material;
input the actual times in moulding, core-
making and dressing departments; and
estimate the current man-hou
moulding core-making and dressing
departments.
The module has also the facility for compar-
ing the following:
estimated and actual weights of casting, core-
making and moulding; and
estimated and actual times in moulding,
core-making and dressing departments.
In any manufacturing organisation it is nec-
essary to keep records of estimates and process
plans. This module contains two main archives.
One for recording and storing information on
the estimated values of castings and the other
for recording the actual casting data. The
structure and information contained in them
are almost identical. The module of the system
rovides facilities for comparing the actual and
the estimated values and can also be used in
for the Commo-
software on othe
 59
TABLE 1 TABLE 2

ercentage variatio (o/o) between actual and estimated Percentage variations (%) between actual and estimated times
casting and core wei in moulding, core-making and dressing departments
-
Company Casting bay Type Percentage variations (016) Company Casting Type Percentage variations (
in weight bay
Moulding Core-making Dressing
Casting Core-making
1 2.0 2.7 2.4
1 2.2 3.7 Small 2 4.7 3.3 6.0
Small 2 3.4 4.5 3 6.0 5.2 6.2
3 5.2 6.5
Small/ 1 6.3 3.2 6.3
Small/ 1 6.4 3.4 medium 2 6.6 9.7 7.8
medium 2 6.3 5.7
1 3.7 3.9 4.0
1 3.4 4.4 Large 2 9.1 11.3 10.4
Large 2 6.8 10.9 3 9.2 11.5 12.3
3 7.5 11.1
9.8 12.5 12.5
9.0 10.1

the range of percentage variations between

The system was used to test more than 200
ferrous and non-ferrous castings at the two col-
laborating companies. At Company A they
varied from 15 to 815 kg and at Company B
from 1 to 12 kg. The estimated weights and
times were compared with those actually
achieved.
The average variations between the actual
and the estimated weights of castings and cores
in all the casting bays are illustrated in Table
1, they ranged from 2.2 to 9.0% and 3.7 to
11.1% respectively.
The average variations between the esti-
mated and actual es in the moulding, core-
departments for all the
trated in Table 2.
actual and estimated weights of castings and
cores and times in moulding, core-makng and
dressing departments. It is observed that the
closeness of fit between estimated and actual
weights and times decreases as the casting and
core shapes becomes more complex. Castings
of this nature include: gear cases, stuffing box
covers and gear wheels. Some possible reasons
for the lack of fit include:
dificulties in breaking down the profile of
the casting and core into a number of regu-
lar shape codes;
shrinkage in both casting and core material;
changes in density during the manufactur-
ing process, this applies, in particular, to the
core mixture;
the existence of porosity; and
The castings with regular and uniform shapes

tion of moulding time.

Figures 3 (a) and 3 (b) show for Company A
60

20

10
W

8 00

-10

1 3
SMIA‘UMEP:" L&GE

CASIING BAYS

pany’s business and manufacturing strategy
to tender at a low rince in a bid to obtain
usiness just to re ver overhead costs), a
correction fator could then be selected within
this range and used by the planning engineers
when estimating the weight of a casting to be
manufactured in this particular casting bay.
LJsing the feed-back loop facility> information
along the lines of that illustrated in Fig. 3 could
subsequently be incorporated into the system.
The process of manually estimating the
weight of casting and production time in
moulding, core-making and dressing depart-
ments requires a considerable amount of expe-
rience. Furthermore, it is also tedious, time
consuming, prone to error and often inconsist-
ent (i.e. two planning engineers will probably,
unless the casting is simple, arrive at a differ-
ent manufacturing method, process route and
time for the same casting). The result is a pro-
liferation of different estimates. It is interest-
ing to report that in Company A (where the
bulk of the system development work has been
carried out) there is no formal feedback of
information from the production department
to the planning engineers. If such a facility was
in place, this would assist with the analysis of
any deviation and thus
n order to arrive at a weight and time esti-
Fig. 3(a). Percentage variations between estimated and actual weights.
Fig. 3(b). Percentage variations between estimated and actual time.
61
from a handbook or reference manual obtain
the necessary formulae and equations for the
s identified and the appropriate
material specification (e.g. density and
cost );
calculate the volume of individual segments
and add them together;
estimate the weight of casting and core;
estimate the time in moulding, core-making
and dressing departments;
check for any inaccuracy in calculation; and
file the estimation and planning sheet for
future reference.
When using the computer-aided system it is
possible to calculate the volume and weight of
the casting, core and moulding from a techni-
cal drawing by selecting dimensions and shapes
and then knowing the weight, the estimated
manufacturing time in the moulding, core-
making and dressing departments. This will
also enable a planning engineer to produce an
estimation and planning sheet quickly and with
a minimum of routine work. Further benefits
include: consistent results, a permanent printed
record of all calculations computer data stor-
age with the facility t mend and delete, and
instant data retrieval. owever, simplification
and speeding up to calculations, represents only
one part of computerisation, perhaps the real
benefit being the effective use of a planning
engineer’s time and the availability of a data-
base against which performance can be moni-
tored, The system also has the facility to
62
TABLE 3 the manufacturing time in the moulding,
percentage saving in planning and estimating time in each
core-making and dressing departments can
casting bay be estimated on the basis of man-hours per
tonne of casting produced;
Company Casting bay Type Percentage saving in
by using the feed-back loop, the system offers
planning time (o/o)
the facility for comparing the actual and
1 76.00 estimated weights of casting and core and
Small 2 82.00
3 82.50 manufacturing times in the moulding, core-
Small/ 1 83.00
making and dressing dcyartments. It is also
medium 2 87.00 possible to build a correction factor into the
1 87.00 system to cater for any variation between the
Large 2 90.00 estimated and actual weight &ridtime ofboth
3 89.00 casting and core;
79.00 an archive containing all the major infor-
mation on a particular casting can be used
for tender or quotation purposes;
took from 11 to 19 minutes. The total com- the system contains all the necessary for-
puter-aided estimation and process planning mulae and mathematical equations for 22
time for each casting arises from three differ- different shape codes with the option to add,
ent operations: the time taken to understand delete or modify a shape code;
the technical drawing, time to prepare the data it provides the planning engineer with a cal-
for the computer and the time elapsed for put- culator module which determines the den-
ting the data into the system. The percentage sity and cost per tonne of a casting alloy or
saving in process planning and estimation time a mixture of core-making or moulding
for each casting bay is summarised in Table 3 material; and
and ranges from 76 to 90% in Company A and the system can be used for both the ferrous
averages 79% in Company IX and non-ferrous foundries and for metric
and imperial units.
During the development process considera-
ble attention was paid to design of the
man-machine interface. The following fea-
tures were identified as important by Ajmal [ 91
A survey of the literature has indicated that and the foundry managers and planning engi-
little has been published concerning the appli- neers at Company A:
cation of computer-aided systems for process ctive in operation;
planning and estimating for use in a jobbing
foundry. Application of computers in foun-
dries for estimating the weight of castings a, tive instructions for the
cores is not new and there are a number user.
Attention to such detail h
of de tonstrations were

The use of the system is limited to estimat-
ing weight of casting, core and time in the
moulding, core-making and dressing depart-
ments. In order to make it a totally integrated
system, its application needs to be extended to
other areas of the foundry such as pattern
making, pouring, and melting. Since the sys-
tem developed is modular in structure, total or
partial integration can easily be achieved by
adding new modules.
The authors wish to thank Professor FL
Crossley for his suggestions which led to the
development of Fig. 3 (a) and 3 (b) c
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