ASAMOULD is an integrated suite of software modules which helps mouldmakers, moulders and designers through all steps of costing, planning and producing moulds. It results in significant savings in the time needed to carry out these functions and reduces potentially dangerous inaccuracies in both costing and planning. Extensive research has led to the formulation of a unique parametric costing method that is easy to use by engineers and designers who may have little or no IT experience. ASAMOULD is already used in several countries by moulders and mouldmakers alike. A policy of ongoing product development ensures that these customers receive the support they need to maintain a significant lead over their competitors.

The key features of ASAMOULD are :

· It produces accurate costings for moulds, even where final design details are not fully specified. This enables mouldmakers to respond more quickly and with greater accuracy to enquiries than is possible with other costing methods. The risk of losing business through quoting too high and of losing money through quoting too low is reduced or even eliminated.

· Moulders and designers can estimate tooling costs for budgetary purposes, prepare detailed enquiries for sub-contract mould manufacture and analyse quotes quickly and objectively. Through having the facility to estimate costs for both the tool and the part, response to customer enquiries is quicker. This improves the company image and should lead to more and better business.

· The results of the costings can be used to produce preliminary mould drawings by exporting the relevant data to a CAD package. This saves time and enhances the quality and content of quotations and enquiries. By using a standard format for costings, enquiries and quotations, comparisons can be made more easily and the data used to optimise the costing process.

· When quotations become orders ASAMOULD helps turn the preliminary data into a production costing and manufacturing plan. It highlights differences between the quoted and actual costs and can assist in recovering any undercostings by linking them to changes in specification or design. These comparisons help to refine the costing parameters so that estimates and quotations become even more accurate.

· Once the tool is in production real costs and progress can be routinely entered so that any divergence from estimated costs or delivery dates will be apparent at the earliest opportunity. Regular updates on progress are produced for both customer and in-house use. Potential problems are identified ahead of time and so can be resolved more easily.

In summary ASAMOULD:

ASAMOULD comprises five integrated modules which are described in more detail overleaf and will run on any PC with DOS 5.0 or greater, Windows 3.1 or Windows 95. It is available as a stand-alone system or will operate on most common networks to give multi-user performance with shared data. It requires a PC with a minimum configuration of 486 cpu with 8MB of memory although it is recommended that a Pentium with 16MB be used wherever possible. An Evaluation License is available, at nominal cost, to thoroughly check out the software for 60 days prior to purchase. Support Contracts are offered to provide ongoing assistance and , most importantly, enhancements to the software. ASAMOULD, copyright of ASA Sistemas de Informaçao, is sold and supported in the UK & Ireland by Seltek (UK) Ltd.

ASAMOULD is a modular and integrated system comprising the five modules detailed below :

1. Module 1 - Quotations

This is the basic module of ASAMOULD and uses ASA’s parametric costing method to estimate the price and lead-time of a mould. This unique and practical method puts a weighting into the costing calculations based on the level of complexity identified through classifying the mould according to its major components, i.e. :

The main characteristics are easily entered in a simple check list format. The different machining processes to be used on the cavity area, together with the dimensions of the mould, are entered and the program then calculates its suggested price and lead time. It remains possible to adjust the prices, or modify the internal factors in order to personalise the calculations, although this will be less necessary as the knowledge base increases. The software can also automatically recalculate the price and delivery for a mould with a different number of cavities. All data, whether entered or calculated, is kept in data files. These enable the user not only to view and revise previous quotations, but also to utilise that data in the other modules of the system.

2. Module 2 - Enquiries

Module 2 has a database of suppliers and can automatically print requests for quotation to other companies (e.g. sub-contractors) - or to the user’s own production department - on a standard form with all the basic mould characteristics. This module is intended to improve the parametric quotation method, allowing the mould being priced to be compared with similar ones, previous classifications and market prices (and also the real production costs if the mould was actually produced). This module also has all the necessary facilities to maintain Client and Supplier files, as well as carrying out parametric searches, generating reports, and calculating general statistics on clients and on suppliers.

3. Module 3 - Orders

This transforms an existing quotation into an order and confirms all the parameters agreed with the customer. When this is done, the program prints a sheet with the specifications and estimated values of the mould (costs, times, mould size, etc.). However, the main purpose of this module is to evaluate the variances between the previously estimated figures and the actual ones which are entered later. The update of the database and the analysis of these variances makes the costing method more and more accurate by adjusting it in line with each user’s unique circumstances.

4. Module 4 - Mould Dimensions

Module 4 is essentially an extension of Module 1 (Quotations). It uses the three basic dimensions of the part to be moulded and the parameters defined for the mould in the quotation procedure to sketch out the mould and suggest its dimensions for a possible cavity layout. It also gives the facility to automatically create a .TXT or .DXF file which can be directly transferred into a CAD system.

5. Module 5 - Production

Using the data already entered and computed in the previous modules, Module 5 automatically generates the Production Plan for the construction of the mould, broken down by component and by production phase. Regular input of the percentage completion of each phase allows the program to compute any deviations from plan, to create and print Progress Reports for the customer and to present graphs on the current status of the job.