Materials
Work out the raw material and bar stock each position needs, with weight and cost calculated for you.
The Materials tab is where you plan the raw material for a job. It is a grid with one row per position, and for each part you enter what it is cut from. The page works out how much bar stock you need, how much it weighs, and what it costs.
You do not add rows here. Every position on the job already has a row, and empty rows are simply ones you have not filled in yet.
What you fill in
For each position, work left to right across the row.
| Field | What it is |
|---|---|
| Additional parts | Extra pieces to allow for scrap, on top of the position quantity |
| Material type | The stock shape: round bar, square or flat bar, hex bar, round or square tube, L or U profile, or Custom |
| Material group | The material, such as a steel or aluminium grade. This sets the density used to work out weight, so weight needs a group. |
| Alloy | An optional note for the exact grade |
| Dimensions | The measurements for the shape you chose, in millimetres. A round bar asks for diameter and length; a tube adds wall thickness; and so on. |
| Saw offset | The cut allowance lost to each saw cut. Starts at 5. |
| Bar length | The length of one bar of stock you are cutting from |
| Price (kg) | The price per kilogram of the material |
What it works out
As you type, the row fills in the rest on its own:
- The total quantity, being the position quantity plus your additional parts.
- How many parts come from one bar, and the stock you need to buy, shown as a count of full bars plus any leftover length.
- The total weight, from the cross-section, the length, and the material's density.
- The total price, from the weight and your price per kilogram.
The bottom of the grid adds up the total weight and total price across every position, so you can see the whole job's material at a glance.
Custom material
Choose Custom when a part is not cut from standard bar stock. Instead of dimensions you enter the weight in kilograms directly, and the page prices it from that. Bar-stock fields do not apply and are left blank.
Saving
Filling the grid does not save on its own. Use the Save button in the toolbar to store every row you have completed. A row is saved only once it has at least a material type and a material group; half-filled rows are skipped, and a message tells you how many were saved.
Viewing the drawing
Each position name in the grid is a button. Click it to open that part's drawing in a new tab, so you can check dimensions against it while you fill the row in.
Requesting quotes
Tick the checkbox on one or more positions and a Generate RFQ button appears in the toolbar, for sending a request for quotation to a supplier for the material those positions need.