Overview
What is aPriori Technologies?
The aPriori Manufacturing Insights Platform automates and simulates the entire production process for a digital twin CAD model. The heart of the platform is its Digital Factories which generate an array of manufacturing data that can be used by product…
A Tool To Help To Boost Your Cost Estimation Process
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Advanced costing tool for better vision on product cost!!
Fact-based costing
- Product Cost Management :
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aPriori - A way to develop organization cost knowledge
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How Much Will My Design Cost? (2023)
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What is aPriori Technologies?
The aPriori Manufacturing Insights Platform automates and simulates the entire production process for a digital twin CAD model. The heart of the platform is its Digital Factories which generate an array of manufacturing data that can be used by product design teams, cost engineers and sourcing specialists to make better decisions daily.
What are Manufacturing Insights?
aPriori’s Manufacturing Insights Platform simulates each step of the product manufacturing process, including both primary and secondary operations. The data generated by a manufacturing simulation helps product teams to identify and eliminate any potential design or sourcing related issues that would either slow down or stop the production process and cause delays to a product launch or inflation of manufacturing costs.
Identify & Eliminate Manufacturing Obstacles Before They Slow Down Production
Digital Factories provide manufacturability analysis and directional costing that give design teams and engineers an incentive to design for manufacturing (DFM), reduce engineering change orders (ECOs), and launch products on schedule. Digital factories also provide sourcing teams with the capability to compare production environments across an extensive range of manufacturing criteria to evaluate fully burdened manufacturing costs and inform site selection. For a given product design, digital factories can be used to identify and select less expensive raw materials, cheaper manufacturing processes offering faster cycle times, and alternative finishing options.
What is Digital Factory Software?
An aPriori digital factory is a combination of two key elements: aPriori Regional Data Libraries and aPriori Manufacturing Process Models. Out-of-the-box digital factories are a baseline configuration for a production deployment. They provide benchmark estimates and manufacturing guidance. The analyses produced are based on general and reasonable manufacturing practices and average rates not specific to an individual industry. aPriori Digital Factories can be configured to represent specific manufacturing practices and cost structures of your internal facilities or even those of a trusted supplier.
aPriori Technologies Features
- Supported: aPriori can be configured on-premise or as a cloud-based solution
- Supported: aPriori solves for manufacturability and cost drivers early in the development process
- Supported: aPriori measures greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions throughout a manufacturer’s supply chain
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aPriori Technologies Technical Details
Deployment Types | On-premise, Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based |
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Operating Systems | Windows, Mac |
Mobile Application | No |
Supported Countries | USA, EMEA, APAC |
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(1-5 of 5)Fact-based costing
- Product Cost Management :
aPriori is essential in our department for activities such as:
- Potential for current parts- Value- Base Negotiation [ Direct Savings from Current Suppliers]
- Providing target cost for new products [ New Product Development]
- Speed, innovation, capacity
- Generating the Technical Ideas during the Supplier workshop , Idea Generation Workshops
- To meet the Negotiation Target for the suppliers- [ Fact- Based Negotiation]
- Supplier Rationalization (Supplier Bench-marking)
- Cost Break-up for the Parts (Quote Missing)
- Most Economic ways of Producing the Parts in machining could be analysed
- Negotiation with suppliers
- Keeping the target cost for the new products i.e. cost avoidance
- RFQ benchmarking
- Producing results quickly
- Reduced the RFQ response time drastically
- Sheet Metal-Process Group, Transfer Die is at the Best, which gives detailed operation setup for the Parts as well as shows the number of parts in the Sheet i.e nested Loop thereby reducing the Scrap as well (Scrap Management)
- Forging-Steel: Very good for for medium and complex medium Hot Forging type parts. Machine overhead data is very detailed where facts are used for the negotiation i.e Electricity Rate, Power, Labour Rate, Maintenance rate, etc.
- Surface Treatment / Other Secondary Process such as powder coating, wet coat, electro plating: These all work well. We can also use masking options the treatment, In the event of of any leak tests or X-Ray inspections, we can add the process which will then account the pre/post operation time for the treatments
- 2-Model Machining: Machines and routing combinations are huge and can be used to determine the most economic way to produce these parts. We can also override to find the supplier methodology and cost. It gives very detailed information on the feed rate, speed rate, and power capacity.
- Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerating (GD&T) can be added on the GCD's which will help detect the super finishing process, which is another advantage. In the current 2016 R2 SP, aPriori can detect it from the CAD Models
- Design to Cost feature, provides the design engineers as well as cost engineers to understand the which feature take most cycle time and whether changing that feature reduces the complexity in machining thereby cycle time can be reduced
- Investment Casting Model: We have a basic model where we have captured all the processes involved, but when logic is being missed in the same in process, we have to fine-tune it to make it as effective as other process groups.
- Powder Metal technology: Similarly, we need more process setup options in order to provide more logic for manufacturing. It does have the basic manufacturing setup
- Mass Volume Machining: Transfer machines, swiss lathes need to be incorporated for Mass and high-speed machining
- Forging: Hollow Forging as well as forging of Non-Ferrous metal need to addressed as the Forging cost is too high
It integrates with CAD systems and is particularly useful for estimating costs for the following industrial processes:
Forging:
- Excellent for medium size and medium complex parts
- Weight range: 2-50 kg
- Material: Steel
- Forging: Hot Forging
- Best with good routing and machine selection according to the die size and part size
- Melting Model need very little logic
- Separate components for Melting and Casting i.e. cost can be derived for each activity
- Process group is the best for machining
- Many routings where we can play with activating the turning setup / setup axis activation
- We can experiment with different Routing and aPriori tells us why it cannot be done and gives useful data for redesign
- Gives all Machining parameters i.e machine name, feed rate, speed running, power capacity, etc.
- We can use the Parts in the barrel or in rack for heat treatment
- Masking can be done for painting parts
- Testing processes also available i.e. X-Ray test, leak test etc...
- No Negative Impacts
- At our Organization, ROI is calculated in terms of time, speed, and value
- Time: We can reduce the project implementation by a few days
- Speed: Delivering the cost in a few hours compared to weeks in the past
- Capacity: Tool helps to make things run parallel i.e bulk costing increases capacity
- Value: Negotiations have resulted in savings with respect to list price
- aPriori shares reports in innovative way. It uses cost insight where we can analyze the report and share stake-holders much more quickly
- It also improves the project implementation by achieving targets and making sure the cost of the product is not above target, all the way up to launch
- Provides more Fact to have strong arugmentation with suppliers
- Detail Cost Break-up and various report such as Manufacturing Tool Summary, Assembly cost report can be generated
- Add-on features help to more strong usage of tool in daily work culture to main the Cost culture in my Organisation
- DTC-Design to Cost feature is new add on in 2017 version where we can see the features which take most cylce time and this make the Desgin Engineer to alter and see the Cycle time reduction thereby Cost
- User-Friendnly
- Cost Insight Reporting-Awaited Interative Reporting to our need
- Procurement- Should Cost Analysis
- Design Engineers- Design to Cost
- NPD- Target Costing for New Product
- Able to write the Logic with aSQL
- Possess the general Manufacturing knowledge
- Understand the Different Cost Components for the various Process
- Need to have general Machining Knowledge
- Able to know the feed/speed to be given for the particular operation for Better Refinement of Cost
- Should able to use the Process Set-up Options for the Process Group
- Use of Secondary Process need to understand from the Drawing Requirement
- Achieved Annual Savings of over 1.5m USD with use of Should Cost Analysis
- Target Costing Provided to decide the New Project Development as the Concept Target Cost was far high than expected estimated cost, Which saved the Huge resources and Time for the Organization
- Reporting- Cost Insight helps to know the potential % with current Prices
- Integrating the ERP System with aPriori
- PLM with aPRiori to directly access the models and run the costing
- ONE POINT CONTACT to evaluate the Current Product and to Decide the COST for New Product
- Helps various functions to understand the COST involved in the function via aPriori PCM
- Also integerating the CFD Analysis Software i.e.modeFRONTIER with apriori is future development targeted
- Not to Lose the Position of Product Cost Management Importance
- Make Costing Simple and Ease
- Traceablitlity of Previous Costed
- Helps Design Engineers to actually look for the Which Feature contributes for the Most Cycle Time and help Design Engineers to re-design the CAD Model and look for the changes in the Cycle Time and the Machining parameters
- Interactive Cost Insight
- Product Features
- Product Usability
- Positive Sales Experience with the Vendor
- Analyst Reports
- One Platform to cost the maximum spend of Organization
- Maturity in Most of the Process Group especially in Sheet Metal, Machining, Casting, Plastic, Forging,etc...
- Process Set-up Options which able to alter the required field for the various operations and get the actual set-up in which supplier manufactures the part i.e. Feed/Speed of Machines
- Overall "COST" before it "MATTERS"- Tag line of aPriori
- Look for One Platform for all Process Group
- Look for the Costing of Powder Metal, Fabrication as separate Process Group
- Ease editing of Process Set-up Options in case of separate Tab
- Able to easy Link to ERP systems and PLM
- Web-Based Solutions
- User-Friendly with Minimum input the Costing is done for the Process Group
- Suggestions -How the Part would cost in various Locations?
- Implemented in-house
So no major bottleneck were experienced during the Change Management .
- Need to have compliance with internal IT security, which was time consuming for the network security check
- Easy Tracking of Status -Request
- Automatic Follow-up mail in case we forget about our request
- Response within 24 hours for our request
- We will be assisted with single point contact or account holder
- Quick response and follow-up for the request
- In case the request are not able to complete on specified time line, they will ask for the request in time stretch
- Easy to contact or have a Skype call for the request discussion with technical panel
- We have customized few of our Data base where we need to pull in the Logistics & Packaging Cost in our Cost Model
- We had missed the Logic in between and when we reported to Support Service
- Within 24 hrs we received , inputs for the resolution i.e. Cost Model Tool set we need to upload to our request where solution provider will work on to the tool set and confirm the bug and corrected for the Change and now it works fine
- When we have enhanced process of "Melting" we had a support on-site where they had come to our Organization and worked with Our cost modeller and made this Process enhanced
- Similar such Process which we have enhanced where we had direct support from aPriori Support Team-"Transfer Press"
- Support Team also helped for regional data update other than available regions provided by aPriori
- Process Setup Options for customizing the routing operations
- Routing Operations to choose the Machining method according to the Supplier routing
- Override function is most useful one to override the actual specification
- More Process setup options need to be used in Secondary process for better routing
- Cost engineer need to know "What the part "Should" cost?" instantly.
- One need to understand the cost in various Process group such as casting, forging, machining, additive manufacturing,etc...
- One need to have comparison of various process group in single window
- Ease of finding cost for various location for various currency in single platform
Never turning back!
- Ability to model costs in multiple countries. In a short amount of time, we are able to make quick decisions as to a sourcing location, and provide good feedback to our purchasing organization, as well as our designers in relation to trouble areas (or cost driving features).
- Ability to self develop processes whereby customizing to our own industry. There are many processes that are specific to my business, and in order to better understand the costs for them, we need to develop our own modeling capability. aPriori allows for this to take place seamlessly within their product by writing it into their code.
- One of the best support organizations I've ever dealt with. I have used them extensively, with great success nearly every time.
- Branch into more process groups for cost modeling capability.
- Make system updates easier to integrate. It would be nice to have an update method similar to a Windows update.
- Revise the material libraries to be globally centric instead of regional centric. This is for an update simplification perspective of data.
- The main purpose is to understand and manage costs as early as possible in a project cycle. The software has done this exceptionally well.
- DFMA
- Cost reduction
- New product introduction with target costs
- Flexibility to create new processes
- Multi department collaborations on assessing anticipated product cost
- Take the "should cost" mentality to a "could cost"
- Product Features
- Product Usability
- Implemented in-house
- Validating processes against our supply base
- Learning the coding aspects
- Developing our specific processes that were not included with the OOTB product
- GCD costing with CAD models
- Synchronization applications for global teams
- Sheet metal stamping for progressive stamped parts
- Database manipulations
- Cost Insight reporting
Great decision making software
- Cost reduction
- Tooling costs
- Parts cost
- Source decision
- NPI - quotation
- Right part with the right supplier
- Efficient design
- negotiation
- NPI part development
- source decision
- simultaneous enginnering
- adding sheet plastic license , since we do not work with that nowadays
- Product Usability
- Analyst Reports
- Third-party Reviews
- Implemented in-house
- price of equipment . it could run with a standard equipment and other 3d interfaces than CREO
- frindly user interface
- visual reports
- it could be faster to launch , and let the user change the 3d model simultaneously to the cost modeling .
- it could be able to open a second 3d model to cost modeling
No time to waste on waiting
So, it helps in many ways:
- Be quicker and more confident when we have a design decision to make for in-house development project
- Give a fast quote to our customer in a build to print product
- Remove the number of RFQ to our suppliers
- Give visibility to cost really quickly
- Be able to benchmark other regions of the world or other process/equipment that can be used to do the same part
- Easily visualize the Geometric Cost Drivers that are more important
- GIve some hints on where to work to get the cost down
- Be more easy to customize without that much IT knowledge
- Give more hints on how to reduce cost
- Be able to build customize report
- It helps decrease our time to market. So more projects are done than before.
- Being quick to give a quote to a customer is a business advantage. Customers know they can rely on Soucy to get a quick quote. First in gets the business.
- No time spent on concepts that are too expensive anyway!
- Product Features
- Product Reputation
Lot of our customer was already using it
aPriori Cost Modeling Software Review
- The ability to create User Guided models which are not available as well as models we can use when 3D files are not available.
- aPriori gives a lot of data as outputs. Would like to see a cleaner interface and one where we can get to the fields I want to see easier.
- Customizing reports more simply would be a benefit as well.
- It has allowed us to turn around requests in record time
- It has allowed us real time collaboration and trade off analysis
- It has allowed us to support engineering and BOM development earlier in design phase
- DFMA