General

Use the General screen in the Costing Template Editor to set the units and currency options, shop rate, and surface finishing options.

To display this screen:

  • In the Costing Template Editor, click General.
Template type Displays the type of part the template is used for: Machining process.
Units Sets the template units: English Standard or Metric Standard.
Currency code Sets the currency type. Type a three-character abbreviation or symbols.
Currency name Sets the currency name.
Currency delimiter  
Shop rate Sets the hourly shop rate. When you select Override individual machine and labor costs with the following shop rate, the Shop rate overrides the machine and labor costs entered for specific operations such as cutting, milling, and drilling. Set the Shop rate if you know the vendor’s shop rate, but not the costs for specific machines and labor.

In the Costing Template Editor, the screens for Cut (Plate Stock), Mill, Drill, and Turn contain a breakdown of machine and labor costs. Manufacturers know the specific machine and labor costs, and the manufacturers can use these costs in the template. However, often when a manufacturer talks with a customer about costs, the manufacturer talks about an overall “shop rate” for cost, rather than the cost of a specific machine or a specific worker. This rate includes the machine and general overhead, labor costs, and profit.

For example, if a job takes one hour and the Shop rate is $80, then the manufacturing cost is $80 per part.

Setup time Sets the amount of time it takes to set up a machine for each operation.

Setup cost = Setup time * (Machine Cost + Labor Cost)

Cost calculation method Material Removal Rate is a method that calculates the time required for manufacturing, such as drilling a hole, milling a pocket, or milling a face of a part.

Total cost of manufacturing = Material Removal Rate * (Machine Cost + Labor Cost)

Default surface finish for mill operations Sets the finish generated by the tool while removing material. Select one of the following:

Roughing

Creates a standard finish generated by the tool. Use roughing to remove the maximum material.

Semi-Finishing

Creates a smoother finish than roughing.

Finishing

Creates the smoothest finish.

Use semi-finishing or finishing when the finish to the face is more important than removing material.
Default Markup/Discount Adjusts the material cost or the total cost using a percentage factor. A negative value creates a discount, and a positive value creates a markup. For example, you can increase the cost by 15% of the material cost which gets added to the total cost. The 15% will reduce the cost with a negative percentage. Select one of the following:

% of Total Cost

Increases the cost of manufacturing based on a percentage of the total cost.

% of Material Cost

Increases the cost of manufacturing based on a percentage of the material cost.

Use this option if you get a discount on material or the total cost of a manufactured part. If you are a manufacturer, use this option to set your profit margin over your actual costs.

Select Don't show this value or allow modification in Taskpane to restrict users from modifying the value.