Time spent on PC-DMIS programs

[Devaney]

I am the only programmer at my facility. Can you guys give me some idea of how long it should it take me to program a machined part with roughly 200 dimensions off of a solid model.

Whats reasonable?

What you guys tell people when they hand you a job and ask when it will be done?

[Duckhunter]

I thought that I have read here that people estimate 10 dimensions / hour. The last job that we contracted I did the same. Came out pretty close.

Tim

[Matthew D. Hoedeman]

I think it took me less than an 8 hour shift to program 258 features/dimensions. That is about 32 per hour. This is on sheet metal stampings. Vector, Edge, Circle, Slot type features.

[kbotta]

I tell em 1 hr for set up, and 8-10 dims an hour. Thats how we used to quote it in a metrology lab.
Kev
(Of course you can do many more than 8-10 per hr...)

[Paul Sarrach]

And Matt has been doing this since his granite table was actually a cave floor. It also matters what type of dimension you are talking about. Is it a print with 200 callouts, are they all to ABC, are there more datum schemes? Thats where it can get tricky for a newbie to get correct numbers to match a print. Or will this be just a lot of true positions and form and trim profiles.

I do like kev, 8 per, thats what met labs usally quoted us

[#2#]

Whatever the estimate you come up with add a few hours as most people will be happy if something is done early and upset if it takes longer than estimated. There is nothing worse that trying to program with someone looking over your shoulder.

[T Miller]

At 10 per you shouldn't get behind .. What I tell them and I don't use cad hardly at all

[Matthew D. Hoedeman]

Ya got that right. 95% of the time, I am just programming a 'grid' on the part. An EDGE point every 50mm, a vector point in between the edge points, set in usually 8 to 10mm (weld lines) then a grid on the 'inside' of the part. All the holes, etc. I have only had to do 6 or 7 'print' checks, it is all off the cad and rarely do I have to do more than 10 or 12 SPC points from either the fixture or the print. It's all 'ME' baby! That is why I can go so fast. Of course, that last estimate also included the set up, making the alignment, and checking the fixture locators and tweaking the alignment to get them to check right (within 0.050mm or 0.002"), so IT IS EVEN MORE IMPRESSIVE THAN IT SOUNDED TO BEGIN WITH!!!!

Of course, I always use the 'Scotty' method of estimating times, figure what you need, then triple it, then you always look like a GOD when you get it done so fast!

(Scotty from Star Trek)

[bw_bob]

I agree with Paul. It depends on what you are measuring and if there are numerous datum schemes.

[Andrew Gardner]

When you leave me alone long enough for me to do it!!

Unfortunatly, they will cut whatever time you tell them down by at least a third. Then, when you don't get it done in their time frame, they can get pissy with you.

I usually ask if I'm going to be interupted, or uninterupted?

[tlnzz]

I am the only programmer at my facility. Can you guys give me some idea of how long it should it take me to program a machined part with roughly 200 dimensions off of a solid model.

Whats reasonable?

What you guys tell people when they hand you a job and ask when it will be done?

I too am the only programmer at my facility. I usually remind them that I wasn't hired to estimate time. I really don't know how long it will take and their holding me up. After that, I tell them that I will complete the program as soon as I can in a timely manner. TT

[Cumofo]

HA HA! Your Jacked. "Lucky you" gets to teach management all about the CMM black hole time warp. Usually I arrive at a company well after they've walked past the stark raving mad CMM programmer, six times everyday for a-week-on-the-same-program, and there just happy anything takes less that two days.
So....., Two days Ok?

-Gabriel

[rangerboat72]

Don't Cut Yourself Short...

I'll have to agree with everyone else on this one. Better to over estimate (even if it means not getting the job due to outsourcing) than to under estimate. I think 10 dimensions an hour is pretty reasonable with what I do as well. I also have to add about an hour for pulling down drawings and importing cad files for each part...

[kmcmm]

Ya got that right. 95% of the time, I am just programming a 'grid' on the part. An EDGE point every 50mm, a vector point in between the edge points, set in usually 8 to 10mm (weld lines) then a grid on the 'inside' of the part. All the holes, etc. I have only had to do 6 or 7 'print' checks, it is all off the cad and rarely do I have to do more than 10 or 12 SPC points from either the fixture or the print. It's all 'ME' baby! That is why I can go so fast. Of course, that last estimate also included the set up, making the alignment, and checking the fixture locators and tweaking the alignment to get them to check right (within 0.050mm or 0.002"), so IT IS EVEN MORE IMPRESSIVE THAN IT SOUNDED TO BEGIN WITH!!!!

Of course, I always use the 'Scotty' method of estimating times, figure what you need, then triple it, then you always look like a GOD when you get it done so fast!

(Scotty from Star Trek)

I agree with Matt. I always use the 'Scotty' method for estimating programming time. You can never be sure when something will come up during the programming and you have to take extra time to figure out how to check a dimension that some engineer dreamed up that shouldnt be on the print anyway.

[John Kingston]

Of course, I always use the 'Scotty' method of estimating times, figure what you need, then triple it, then you always look like a GOD when you get it done so fast!

(Scotty from Star Trek)

I also use this method. Not just for the CMM but other responsibilties too. Unfortunately the Quality Manager and V.P. of Operations figured this out.
Fortunately, they both like me and those answers, since others outside of Inspection use the opposite method. "I'll be done by 3:00. " 24 hours later they say, "I didn't mean yesterday!"