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estimate or not to estimate

estimate or not to estimate

estimate or not to estimate

(OP)
I am looking for an estimation program that will be able to calculate weight of steel parts and give a cost. We build sign structures which use several combinations of towers and trusses which in turn comprise of hundreds of angles, channels and beams. I am trying to use Microsoft Access but am beginning to wonder if that is the right program for this purpose. Any tip would be greatly appreciated.

RE: estimate or not to estimate

jaykay,

I don't think that you have to reinvent the wheel.

Go to: www.download.com
and type in estimator in the search area and hit "enter".

You will find many programs already written there.
Some are free and others shareware.

RE: estimate or not to estimate

Jaykay,

If your product is drawn in AutoCAD and 3D then just use the mass properties find its volume and multiply by the coefficient of the steel you are using. I used this for heat treatment trays for Ford. I rounded numbers and checked my finding with the actual weight after production. I was never off by more than ½ a pound. Keep in mind that these were large trays and some grinding could make a change to the weight, so I may have been more accurate if the grinders didn’t get over zealous.

If this doesn’t apply, then I would also suggest the Answerguy’s idea.

Hope I have helped in some way.

Have a nice day!
OhioIE

RE: estimate or not to estimate

I wrote a free program to calculate metal weight and volume.  It has many common metals and the following shapes:  hexagonal, octagonal, square, rectangular, round, and tubular.  No angled pieces.  No cost calculations.  Take a look, it might be helpful.

It's at:

http://bellsouthpwp.net/r/s/rsnmar/weights.zip

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