Method for quoting part production

Abstract

One variation of a method for quoting manufacture of a part during construction of a virtual model of the part within a computer-aided drafting engine includes: receiving a quote file specifying a current manufacturing schedule and a pricing structure for a manufacturing facility; at a first time, in response to insertion of a first three-dimensional virtual geometry into the virtual model, calculating a manufacturing quote for the part based on the first three-dimensional virtual geometry and the quote file; displaying the manufacturing quote; at a second time succeeding the first time, in response to insertion of a second three-dimensional virtual geometry into the virtual model, updating the manufacturing quote based on the second three-dimensional virtual geometry and the quote file; and, at a third time succeeding the second time, submitting a form of the virtual model to the manufacturing facility for manufacture of the part.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing executable computer program instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method comprising:
 receiving a quote file comprising a manufacturing schedule for a manufacturing facility;   determining a three-dimensional virtual geometry of a virtual model;   determining a manufacturing quote for the physical part based on the three-dimensional virtual geometry and the quote file; and   providing the manufacturing quote to a user.   
     
     
         2 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises: transmitting a representation of the virtual model to the manufacturing facility for manufacture of the physical part. 
     
     
         3 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 1 , wherein the quote file further comprises a pricing structure for the manufacturing facility. 
     
     
         4 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 3 , wherein the quote file further comprises a current material availability. 
     
     
         5 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 1 , wherein receiving the quote file comprises automatically accessing the quote file in response to a user request for quote. 
     
     
         6 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 1 , wherein determining the manufacturing quote comprises calculating the manufacturing quote according to a default tolerance for the first three-dimensional virtual geometry. 
     
     
         7 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 1 , wherein the quote file further specifies a list of standard cutting tools; and wherein determining the manufacturing quote for the real part comprises:
 selecting a cutting tool from the list based on the three-dimensional virtual geometry; and   calculating the manufacturing quote based on a cost of the cutting tool.   
     
     
         8 . A method comprising:
 during construction of a virtual model with a computer-aided drafting engine, quoting manufacture based on the virtual model, comprising:
 accessing a quote file comprising a current pricing schedule for a manufacturing facility; 
 determining a three-dimensional virtual geometry of the virtual model; 
 determining a manufacturing quote for the physical part based on the three-dimensional virtual geometry and the quote file; and 
 automatically providing the manufacturing quote to a user. 
   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the current pricing schedule comprises a current manufacturing schedule and a pricing structure for a manufacturing facility. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein determining the manufacturing quote for the physical part further comprises calculating the manufacturing quote for the physical part based on the current pricing schedule, a quantity of units of the physical part, and a delivery time of the quantity of units of the physical part entered into the computer-aided drafting engine. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein determining the manufacturing quote comprises:
 determining a virtual fixture associated with a custom physical fixture for manufacturing the physical part;   calculating a material cost for the custom physical fixture based on the virtual fixture; and   calculating a machining time for the custom physical fixture based on the virtual fixture.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the quoting add-in is further configured to receive a quantity of units of the physical part for order; and wherein determining the manufacturing quote further comprises:
 calculating a first cost to manufacture the quantity of units of the physical part using a standardized fixture;   based on the material cost and machining time for the custom physical fixture, calculating a second cost to manufacture the quantity of units of the physical part with the custom physical fixture; and   selecting the custom physical fixture over the standardized fixture in response to the first cost exceeding the second cost.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising transmitting a representation of the virtual model to the manufacturing facility for manufacture of a physical part based on the virtual model. 
     
     
         14 . A method comprising:
 providing a quote file specifying a current manufacturing schedule and a pricing structure for a manufacturing facility;   providing a quoting tool configured to execute with a computer-aided drafting engine, wherein the quoting tool is configured to determine a manufacturing quote for a physical part based on a 3-dimensional geometry of a virtual part model and the quote file; and   after providing the quote file, facilitating receipt of the manufacturing quote at the manufacturing facility.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein receiving the manufacturing quote further comprises receiving a representation of the virtual model for manufacture of a physical part based on the virtual model. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein determining the manufacturing quote comprises calculating the manufacturing quote according to a default tolerance for the three-dimensional virtual geometry. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the quoting file further comprises a manufacturing history of the manufacturing facility, wherein determining the manufacturing quote comprises:
 determining a failure risk for manufacturing a unit of the physical part based on the three-dimensional virtual geometry; and   calculating the manufacturing quote based on the failure risk.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein determining the manufacturing quote for the physical part comprises:
 estimating a machining time to machine a unit of the physical part according to the three-dimensional virtual geometry; and   calculating the manufacturing quote for the unit of the physical part based on the machining time.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the quote file further specifies a relationship between manufacturing cost and a total part surface area; and wherein determining the manufacturing quote further comprises calculating the manufacturing quote based on a total virtual surface area of the first three-dimensional virtual geometry of the virtual model and the relationship between manufacturing cost and total part surface area. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the quoting tool is further configured to receive a user confirmation of the manufacturing quote, wherein the quoting tool is configured to automatically transmit the manufacturing quote to the manufacture facility along with a representation of the virtual model in response to receipt of the user confirmation.