Automated Fabrication Price Quoting System for Computer Models
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for fabricating structures from computer models face challenges in maintaining consistent pricing due to differing skill levels between engineers and manufacturers, leading to errors and inefficiencies in cost estimation and fabrication, particularly when relying on hardcopies of technical specifications.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for providing a firm fabrication-price quote by integrating a price-quoting interface with computer-modeling software, extracting pricing data from the model, correlating it with actual fabrication resource requirements, and displaying a firm quote to users, allowing for automated and precise cost estimation and ordering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If hardcopies of technical specifications are used for fabrication cost estimation, then engineers and manufacturers can review the documents, but pricing consistency deteriorates due to differing skill levels and interpretations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a digital copy of the hardcopy documents and extracts data from it using optical recognition technology. This digital copy can be processed consistently by computers without being affected by human skill levels or interpretations, thereby achieving pricing consistency while maintaining document accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual human review and interpretation process with an automated optical recognition system and computer processing. This substitution eliminates the variability introduced by different skill levels and ensures consistent, objective data extraction and pricing calculation.
2Measurement precision
If human reviewers manually analyze hardcopies for key features, then they can identify important details, but errors and omissions increase due to human limitations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual feature analysis with automated optical recognition and computer processing systems. These systems can detect and extract key features from documents with high precision and reliability, eliminating human errors and omissions while maintaining comprehensive feature identification.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates validation mechanisms where extracted data can be reviewed and corrected if necessary, providing feedback loops that ensure accuracy. This allows the system to maintain high measurement precision while having the capability to correct any detection errors.
3Productivity
If manual data extraction and human interaction are used for fabrication quoting, then flexibility can be maintained, but time consumption increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual data extraction with automated optical recognition and computer processing systems. This substitution dramatically reduces the time required to extract data from documents and prepares fabrication quotes, increasing productivity while eliminating time-consuming human interaction for routine tasks.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary data extraction and processing automatically when documents are received, preparing all necessary information for fabrication quoting in advance. This preliminary action eliminates the need for subsequent manual data extraction and reduces overall time consumption.
4Measurement precision
If additional information is needed beyond what engineers supply, then more accurate pricing can be achieved, but communication time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses automated optical recognition and data processing to extract all available information from documents without requiring human communication. The system can identify and request additional information automatically through structured queries, reducing communication time while maintaining pricing accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-service by automatically extracting, analyzing, and processing all necessary information from provided documents. This eliminates the need for continuous human communication and allows the system to independently gather required information for accurate pricing.
Data Source
AI summary
A system that provides automated/semi-automated price quotations for fabricating one or more instantiations of a structure that is modeled in a computer model. The system automatedly extracts price-influencing data from the computer model. The system uses the extracted pricing data and pricing parameters to automatedly determine a firm fabrication-price quotation. In some embodiments, the system further includes fabrication ordering functionality that allows a user place a fabrication order with a fabricator based on the firm price quotation. Such systems can be implemented in any of a wide variety of manners, such as within a single computing device or across a communications network, among others. In some embodiments, functionalities of the system are integrated into computer-modeling software directly of via add-on software.