Development of a Costing Model for Wooden Patterns of Casting Structures for Machine Tools

A study is carried out on investigation on pattern costs, identification of geometric parameters for the cost, and development of cost estimation models for casting patterns. Pattern costs for machine tool structures are collected and analyzed to identify the important geometric parameters that affect the costs. The parameters are used for the development of the costing models. It is found that the geometric parameters can be easily obtained from a CAD system and then the costing models estimate a pattern cost in a minimum time. The models are verified with the structures whose pattern cost was used for this study. It is expected that this costing models can evaluate the cost of casting structures of machine tools in search of a near-optimal design based on manufacturing cost and, for example, weight at the design stage.