【正文】 BaseSecure The Block To Corresponding LocationIs Test Shot OK?Machining The Material To Desired shape(Including Subcontract Works)NoMaintenance, Rectification, And ModificationSuitable PolishingYesMould Fitting DeliveryDrill Cooling Line If Needed. The flow of a general mould making procedureCombining these mould making procedures, and the machining method chosen and its machining details as stated above, the machining time and the materials for inserts with their tools and associated ponents can be calculated.3. The prototype CQSIM modelA CQSIM is developed to incorporate features that were considered important in Section 2.. Data management of the CQSIMThe system is established with Microsoft Access, and its programming language is Visual Basic for applications (VBA). The functional relationship of the ponents for the CQSIM is shown in Fig. 2. The data tables of CQSIM contain data of prices, material removal rate (MRR) [4, 5], input data, and calculated results for individual purpose. The VBA programmers calculate input data with predefined dataCQSIM User InterfaceAccessTemplate filesData TableUpdated DataData TableI/O or Update DataFormsUserI/OVBA ProgrammeRunSaved Estimations. The CQSIM operation diagram.from the database and save the calculated data into the corresponding result data table. When needed, the users can save or retrieve cost estimation files and input data into the data file, ‘product ’ or import template forms for new mould cost estimation.. Users interfaceThe CQSIM software package does not require any mould making experts for data input. Moreover, there is no need for the users to have on hand mould making experience. Instead, users are remended to have a basic knowledge of plastic injection moulds. They should know the mould building process from a given product or drawing. This is because the user must be able to choose a suitable process and materials for a mould. Without correct input, accurate results cannot be obtained. The terms used in the data input forms, like mould base, ejector pin, cooling line, pocket and machining methods are familiar to mould makers, even new learners. Therefore, they are easy to fill in by cost estimators who have the basic ideas of injection moulds. The main menu of the CQSIM (Fig. 3) will be shown automatically to users when the program is selected from the Microsoft Access environment. Users can choose a suitable operation from the menu for the desired tasks by pressing a button on it. For cost estimation, a user only needs about 10–30 min (a longer time is needed for very plexity products) to fill in the blanks of the forms as guided by the program. The results can be obtained within a minute of calculation. It is therefore very user friendly.. User inputThere are six data input form input data for a mould. The main data that should be input into the system are:(a) The contents of the products in the mould, . client name, part number, part name, plastic material required, and their size.. The user interface of the CQSIM. A blank data input form for machining details.(b) Mould base details, . width, length, and height of individual plates.(c) The general structure of a mould, . ejector size and quantity, bosses and sleeve ejector (if any), and ribs and flat ejectors (if any).(d) The part number (optional) and name of an insert.(e) The machining details of the above insert, . size, material, cooling line, subcontract, location of its pocket (hole to acmodate the insert), machining methods to achieve the shape of the product. Fig. 4 shows one of the six data input forms. Users can switch among these forms by pressing the buttons ‘Previous’ or ‘Next’. To start the calculation, press the ‘Finish’ button is pressed. Users can also browse among different records in a form by the navigating buttons.. The data tablesFour types of data tables are used to store different types of data:(a) Input data:(i) Product details, such as name of client, product size and polymer required.(ii) Insert names, insert dimensions, and machining criterion.(iii) General information such as size of mould base, gate type, and simple structures (. ejectors, ribs and bosses).Cost is calculated based on these data together with the price and technical data stated below.(b) Resultant data:(i) Materials cost, labour cost and machining cost.(ii) Total machining time for individual ponents and inserts.(c) Price of standard ponents :[(ii)](i) Price for standard ponents such as different types of mould bases and ejectors.(ii) Price for different types of materials such as steel and copper.The price in these data tables should be updated by the users when their prices are changed.(d) Technical data:(i) Machining data, such as MRR and machining sequence.(ii) Standard time for dedicated activities, such as the time to pile a CAM program.. Machining time calculationThe CQSIM is developed independent from CAD–CAM systems. Therefore, the shape and volume for machining time calculation are not actual values but factorised values. The factors used in the CQSIM include Material Factor and Shape Factor. They are used in calculating the actual machining time from the ‘standard’ machining time by means of MRR directly [2,6]:Actual machining time = ‘standard’ machining time quantity Shape Factor Material Factor+ preparation timewhere preparation time includes setup times, teardown times and tool changing time, etc. [6]. The Shape Factor is used to pare the machining difficulties between individual shapes. Simple shapes like round, rectangular and drilling are assigned a value as ‘standard’. Other shapes would be more difficult for machining (lower efficiency) and hence they have higher values. Material Factor is designed with reference to the hardness of the material for machining. The values