Category Archives: Kipware® Quoting and Estimating Software

This category pertains to all things involved with KipwareQTE® – cost estimating software and KipwareCYC® – machining cycletime estimating software and KipwareTRK® – Machine Shop Quotation Tracking and Analyzing Software.

New KentechInc.com Website Launched

With an internet based business … your website is your company. It is your “brick and mortar store”. So it’s gotta be good !!

Kentech Inc. has been business since 1986 … and launched the first version of www.KentechInc.com around 1989. Since then it has gone through quite a few versions as we try to keep it modern, fresh and employing the latest technology. We have always designed and coded on our own and made it a point to learn the latest in web publishing and to employ that technology in our website.

In today’s day … it’s not enough to simply put together a website … it MUST function well on all devices. That means on everything from that big PC screen to that small iPhone or Android cell phone screen. Well … we are software people … so we put the same thought, consideration and testing into our website build as we put into our CNC and machine shop software products.

If you’re shopping around for CNC and machine shop software … take a look at the website of the company you are considering on multiple devices. If it doesn’t function well on everything … do you really want to consider their software?

The latest version of our website was COMPLETELY DESIGNED — CODED — CREATED by our staff of programmers and engineers … no outside assistance whatsoever. And we are  pretty proud of it.

We invite you to visit the latest version of www.KentechInc.com … and send along any feedback to our Sales Team at Sales@KentechInc.com.

Kenney Skonieczny – President
Kentech Inc.

Kentech Welcomes TAI – Turkish Aerospace Industries to the Kipware® Family

November 22, 2017

Kentech Inc. is pleased to welcome TAI – Turkish Aerospace Industries to the KipwareCYC® ( machining cycletime estimating ) family.  Their impressive story and credentials are outlined on Wikipedia …

Turkish Aerospace Industries, Inc. (TAI) (TurkishTürk Havacılık ve Uzay Sanayi A.Ş., TUSAŞ) is the center of technology in design, development, manufacturing, integration of aerospace systems, modernization and after sales support in Turkey.

Located in Ankara, the TAI production plant covers an area of 5million square meters with an industrial facility of 150,000 square meters under its roof. The company has a modern aircraft facility furnished with high technology machinery and equipment that provide extensive manufacturing capabilities ranging from parts manufacturing to aircraft assembly, flight tests and delivery.

As of 2010, Turkish Aerospace Industries employs over 1500 engineers, of whom approximately 850 are research and development engineers working in military research projects.

KipwareCYC® is an industry leading REAL WORLD machining cycletime estimating application … for more information please visit www.KentechInc.com.

Kenney Skonieczny – President
Kentech Inc.

X-Carve Programming and KipwareM®

As we continue to ramp up our sister woodworking company … KÄRV … we continue to demonstrate  and prove our mantras for our Kipware® machine shop software. Metalworking operations … woodworking operations … both have a lot of similarities and requirements and we continue to prove our Kipware® real world machine shop design and features in our now real world woodworking environment.

We recently blogged regarding how we utilize our KipwareCYC® and KipwareQTE® machine shop cycletime and cost estimating software to estimate retail costs for some of our wood products. If you missed it … see the full article HERE.

We are also proving our “not every job requires a CAD/CAM system” programming mantra at KÄRV as well. We recently put our KipwareM® – conversational CNC programming software for milling … to work on a shop floor programming project we were working on in the KÄRV workshop. If you haven’t read our article on shop floor programming vs. CAD/CAM programming … it’s quite the eye-opener … you can read the full article HERE.

The Rest of the Story …

We came up with an idea for a unique clock design that featured a quartz clock movement inside a slice of an oak log. To house the clock body … we needed to mill a 3″ diameter hole in the slice … and we wanted to use our X-Carve CNC router to mill the hole. Simple enough … and it really illustrates how a simple programming project could turn into an overblown programming project if we were to use a CAD/CAM program to create that G code program.

In a CAD/CAM system we would have had to first create a drawing … why? … and then use that drawing to create the toolpath. Some extra steps that would not only cost us time but that time expense has to go somewhere and that would mean additional labor costs associated with the cost of the clock … which would eventually be for sale on our website. Want one … get it HERE !!

So we started KipwareM® … no drawing required … and with a couple of fill-in-the-blank forms completed … we had our G code program to rough pocket and finish mill … using a helical milling routine … the 3″ hole needed to mount the clock movement. Here are some screenshots of the forms … simple, plain english, fill-in-the-blank forms with tons of machining options that created a quick and efficient toolpath … no drawing nor drawing time required Bang bang done !!

 

 

As I mentioned we roughed the pocket using a pocketing routine … but we finished the side walls using a helical type cutting routine. Very easy to create in KipwareM® and posted out using KipwareXC® with our X-Carve Profile. We sent the G code and drove the X-Carve using the Universal G Code Sender application. The results were outstanding and the fit for the clock movement was perfect … first shot.

 

Needless to say we saved ourselves a ton of time by not having to create a drawing and by using our shop floor programming ( not CAD/CAM programming ) model and KipwareM®. We did the programming right at the machine … no expensive CAD/CAM system required and no drawing or CAD/CAM experience required.

If you would like to learn more about KÄRV woodworking and see our other products and designs … please visit our website … www.KarvWoodworking.com

If you would like to explore our conversational, shop floor programming applications or any of our other REAL WORLD machine shop software … please visit our website … www.KentechInc.com

Kenney Skonieczny
President – Kentech Inc.
Woodworker – KÄRV Woodworking

Cost Estimating for a Wooden Plaque with KipwareQTE®

If you have followed our Blog … you might know that back in October of 2015 we started a sister company to Kentech Inc. called KÄRV. KÄRV is a woodworking business … is just getting started … and will be producing custom, handmade furniture and unique wood carvings for resale.

www.KarvWoodworking.com

We are using the Kipware® software from Kentech Inc. in KÄRV to both create the G code programs for our X-Carve CNC router and to estimate cycletime and costs for the products we will be producing for resale. So we are putting Kipware® to the test in the real world … this time the world of woodworking … for additional in-the-trenches use.

We also wanted to document some of the use of Kipware® in various areas of KÄRV … so this post is dedicated to the cost estimating of a wooden, 3D carved plaque we have for sale on our website.

We wanted to illustrate through the video available below how we used our KipwareQTE® to create the retail price for the plaque considering material cost, tooling cost, labor cost and non-machining costs. Metalworking … woodworking … they both have very similar aspects as they relate to manufacturing … so this video is a great way to see KipwareQTE® in action in a woodworking environment … but with a lot of similarities with a metalworking one.

For additional information on all our Kipware® CNC and Machine Shop software titles … please visit www.KentechInc.com.

For additional information on KÄRV woodworking … please visit www.KarvWoodworking.com

Kenney Skonieczny – President
Kentech Inc.

Keys When Estimating Machining Cycletime

At Kentech Inc., we have spent a lot of time over the last 25+ years working and perfecting our KipwareCYC® – Machining Cycletime Estimating Software.  KipwareCYC® started out as a resource for estimating cycletimes for machine purchase justification. Clients would come to us with the request to estimate machining time based on equipment they were considering purchasing. THIS WAS A BIG DEAL to be sure. The client was going to lay down some serious cash to purchase  a new piece of CNC equipment … based heavily on our cycletime estimate to machine their workpiece on that equipment.

Well over the years we have produced quite a few happy clients … enjoying a nice revenue increase thanks to those cycletime estimates and new equipment purchases. So we know a little about accurate machining cycletime estimate … from hands on experiences.

Two of the main factors we have used over the years to incorporate into our machining cycletime estimating are :

  1. Cutting  parameters used in the estimate MUST reflect the speeds and feeds being used on your shop floor during the machining. Using book knowledge … pie in the sky parameters … other people’s data and processes … will only lead to inaccurate estimates. This is one of the fundamental keys to accurate machining cycletime estimating. You can read more about our feelings on this issue in our previous BLOG post  … CLICK HERE to read that post.
  2. The time that a tool is actually engaged in the cut … the “length of cut” … is the most accurate way to estimate that tool’s cutting time. Using other factors like volume of material being removed … does not accurately reflect a tools cutting time. The volume of material being removed does not reflect the path the tool takes in the cut … only the amount of material being removed. The path the tool takes in the cut … the true length of cut … is the only factor that will produce an accurate cutting time.

Our KipwareCYC® application always has used a tools length of cut when calculating cutting time. Coming from the shop floor … we also realize that this is not an easy factor to obtain. That is why we created our companion app for KipwareCYC® … the Cut Length Calculator. This ingenious application uses a mix of conversational, fill-in-the-blank forms as well as the ability to import DXF files yto assist the user in calculating a tool’s length of cut quickly and easily. Our patented Machinist Mode transforms the mouse into a cutting tool … all the user need do is click around the part to simulate the cutter path … and CLC will turn that into a length of cut calculation … for either turning or milling calculations.

For more information on the Cut Length Calculator … included standard with KipwareCYC® … we invite you to watch the video below.


Quoting and estimating is the lifeblood of your business … and any accurate quote begins with an accurate machining cycletime estimate. It is undoubtedly STEP #1 !!

We invite you to check out all the features and power of KipwareCYC at our website … https://kentechinc.com/kipwarecyc/.

Kenney Skonieczny – President
Kentech Inc.

We’re taking our talents to …

After 30+ years in the metalworking industry … we are about to expand our scope as I TAKE MY TALENTS TO … WOOD !!

decision

On October 22, 2016 … KÄRV was born !!

Personally I have been dabbling in woodworking for quite a while and I felt the time had come to take it to the next level.  I mean why not?? Through Kentech Inc. we have developed all the software needed to operate a manufacturing business through our quoting and estimating … CNC programming … and shop utility software. When you come right down to it … making products from wood is very similar to making products from metal. A collaboration between Kärv and Kentech is a NATURAL !!

We invite you to follow our progress along here at the Kipware Blog and on our CNC Machinist Blog as we rev up. We will be detailing our progress as we receive and set-up our X-CARVE cnc router from Inventables. We we will be illustrating and blogging all the steps from unpacking to first cut at the blogs … so please follow along.

After we get the X-CARVE up and running we will be illustrating and blogging about how we integrate our Kipware® quoting and estimating software and Kipware® programming software into winning work … and producing work !! … so please follow along.

karv_sign2

We will also be publishing more on the offerings from Kärv on the Kärv website … www.KarvWoodworking .com. So please visit the website as well. Who knows … you might even find some items of interest for yourself or for gifts.

Kenney Skonieczny – President
Craftsman and Maker … www.KarvWoodworking.com

Guidelines for Calculating Machine HOURLY RATE

We tout this fact all the time in our marketing … at Kentech Inc. we are MACHINISTS … we cut chips, we programmed, we ran shop floors for years … then we became software engineers and designers and built software products we saw were lacking during those years. What we refer to as Real World Machine Shop Software. 

As a result, many of our clients come to us to take advantage of that experience … especially those just starting out. Since quoting and estimating is one of the first tasks a new shop needs to get right … we get asked quite a lot of questions about these areas. Our KipwareCYC® ( machining cycletime estimating software ) and KipwareQTE® ( cost estimating / quoting software ) titles are two of our most popular titles. One of the “hot” topics we encounter during online presentations of these titles is often concerning the cost to charge for a machining or a shop rate. So we thought it was a good time to add a blog post with some guidelines we feel are simple enough … but important enough … that can get you to an accurate figure.

Since many shops will utilize an hourly rate as a basis for charging for machining time, this post is dedicated to some helpful guidelines on how to calculate that machining hourly rate. Below are some points we consider important when calculating the hourly rate for a particular machine. The areas requiring calculations include :

Equipment – Cost Per Hour of Operation … a common formula : (machine purchase cost + expected lifetime maintenance cost) / expected hours of operating life.

Direct Labor Cost per Hour … a common formula : (total annual labor costs + taxes + benefits + paid time off) / (total annual hours worked – breaks and training time)

Overhead Cost Per Hour  : Any costs not directly involved in machining a part is overhead. These include costs for administrative staff salary, equipment, furniture, building lease, maintenance and office supplies. Calculate the annual costs of these, then divide by total labor or machine hours for the year. This will be your overhead cost per hour

Once the above costs are calculated … you can use the formulas and guidelines below to arrive at either a “general” shop hourly rate or an hourly rate based on a specific piece of equipment.

General Machine Shop Hourly Rate … a common formula : Average overall shop rate = (average machine cost per hour + labor and overhead cost per hour) x markup

Machine Specific Hourly Rate … a common formula : (specific machine(s) cost per hour + labor + overhead cost per hour) x markup

Somewhat simplified … and usually a work in progress as factors may change. It is important to gather all the figures in the formulas above as best you can … as accurate as you can … and to keep tabs on any factors that may change along the way.

Kenney Skonieczny – President
Kentech Inc.

New Feature Release – KipwareCYC® Runtime Calculator

Kentech Inc. is pleased to announce the release of the Runtime Calculator (RTC) feature for KipwareCYC® – Machining Cycletime Estimating Software.runtime_ad_logo

RTC is designed to allow users to quickly and easily calculate total hours … total days … and total labor costs for production runs from 1 to 1 million.

RTC can be used as a stand alone application with manual data entry … or users can import previously created KipwareCYC® cycletime estimates and KipwareQTE® machine database information for more automated and accurate calculations.

Below is a screenshot illustrating the available user inputs and options available in RTC.

RTF_screenshot

Please view the animated release video below for additional information and to view RTC in action.

Whether used as a stand alone application … or as a fully and seamlessly integrated application with KipwareCYC® and KipwareQTE® … RTC will provide users with accurate and consistent delivery and production data for scheduling or quoting.

Kenney Skonieczny – President
Kentech Inc.

A Major Hidden Cost Missed When Quoting

We developed our KipwareQTE® quoting and estimating software from our real world experiences on the shop floor and running a variety of different machine shops. Over the years, one main category when quoting that is often misunderstood, under quoted and even completely ignored is perishable tooling.

Do you include perishable tooling in your costing and quoting?

If your quoting a part that needs 100 holes drilled … do you include the cost of the drills and center drills?

Our experience from talking with potential clients shows that 80% of estimators DO NOT include perishable tooling in their costs and estimates. A major mistake … that is directly effecting their bottom line … negatively !!

KipwareQTE makes it easy to include perishable tooling into your estimating process. How?
Two ways.

ONE – users can create a database of perishable tools and their associated costs. Then adding tools costs to the quote and estimate is simply a matter of pulling down a drop-down list and selecting the tools that will be used in manufacturing.

TWO – Using an estimated tool life … KipwareQTE® will perform all the calculations to include the complete cost for each of the tools and also calculate the number of each tools required for inclusion in the Bill of Material creation. That way the shop will be prepared when the job hits the floor.

Estimating

Beyond the feature.

We like to think that thoughtful and important features like this illustrate what sets Kipware® and Kentech Inc. apart from our competition. A simple design, a meaningful feature … that can make the difference between making and losing money … and isn’t that what it’s all about.

We invite you to explore our Kipware® Business Software titles … and discover the difference that REAL WORLD MACHINE SHOP SOFTWARE can make.

Kenney Skonieczny – President
Kentech Inc.

KipwareCYC® – New Release – Multiple Part Machining Time Estimating

The design of KipwareCYC® from the start has been to assist users accurately create machining time estimates for their workpieces … and has been based on creating that time to machine one part from start to finish. Estimates are created while users walk the part through each machining operation for each machine required … creating a time to complete each operation on each machine.

This release of version 7.0.0 of KipwareCYC® now includes the ability to take that single part estimate and research and calculate how that single part time will be effected by using :

  • Multiple pieces in a fixture
  • Multiple fixtures
  • 4th axis or tombstone fixturing using multiple pieces per side of the tombstone while machining multiple sides of the tombstone
  • Multi-axis spindle and multi-turret turning centers
  • Swiss style turning centers

Making use of many of our proprietary formulas already employed inside KipwareCYC® … rapid time, cutting times and handling times ( indexing times ) can now be easily incorporated through the use of these new features and the Multi-Milling and Multi-Turning option screens.

Details are outlined in detail below … or you can watch the video :

MILLING OPTIONS

mill_screenUsing the MILLING option … users have the option of choosing either a MULI-FIXTURE or INDEXER type set-up. Using the FIXTURE TYPE option … users can define

  • # of pieces per fixture
  • # of fixtures
  • distance between the fixtures

Using the INDEXER type option ( designed for HMC’s utilizing a tombstone or 4th axis indexer ) … users can define

  • # of pieces per side of the tombstone
  • # of sides that will be used for machining
  • Indexing time of the table or 4th axis indexer.

KipwareCYC® will then auto-calculate the additional RAPID TIME, CUTTING TIME, and HANDLING TIME ( indexing time ) required and present the user with all the new calculations for comparison. This new feature will not only produce a  more accurate cycletime for multiple parts … but will allow the user to research and compare what might be the better fixturing options to employ.

TURNING OPTIONS

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The TURNING option was designed with multi-spindle and multi-turret type as well as swiss-style turning centers in mind. The cycletime on a multi-spindle machine is in essence the time for that turret with the longest machining time. In KipwareCYC® the user now has the ability to move operations between the turrets to define that turret’s cycletime … and in essence the cycletime to machine the part that was originally estimated using a single spindle machine.

The user is presented with a drop-down list of all the operations from the estimate created for the single spindle machine … and can then move the operations between turrets to find the optimum time and sequence of operations.

Estimating

What does it all mean?

In addition to quickly and easily turning a single part machining time estimate into an estimate for multiple parts on multiple fixtures or time using a more powerful and capable machine … users have new power to research and explore the best machining option to obtain the optimum machining time available on their equipment.

These new features are … once again from Kentech Inc. … cutting edge and innovative. These options coupled with the proprietary formulas employed inside KipwareCYC® give users added power and flexibility to not only win more work … but win more profitable work.

Kenney Skonieczny – President

Kentech Inc.