AI Based Quoting Software

It is no secret that the manufacturing industry is slowly being taken over by online instant quoting platforms that allow customers to upload a solid model and instantly get a quote. This is both exciting and scary for some companies. On one hand, this has allowed for many companies to partner up with these tech companies to receive some of this work and profit from it. On the other hand, it seems like this technology is safeguarded by the ones who use it most(rightfully so).

One of my biggest challenges in the past few years has been educating our sales team on the importance of engaging with the engineering department and machinists alike to determine accurate run times in order to quote parts. However, my company has out-grown the old school method of guessing run times. For numerous reasons, mostly related to the scale and complexity of work. This all got me thinking about this AI Quote Software that a lot of companies online are starting to use. So I began researching software to see what would be available for us to implement something like this. After a day of research I found almost nothing as complex as some of these online companies like Xometry and ProtoLabs.

So, what's the deal? Is there not a company that implements software like this and ties into your ERP system? Am I the only one who sees this rapidly changing industry and realize the importance of not missing this AI/Automation boat?


TL;DR
Where do I find AI based quoting software that can take a solid model and estimate a quote similar to websites like Xometry and ProtoLabs and be able to implement into my company.

Well speaking from the floor, if i have run similar parts then i have a estimate stuck in my head.So much machine time so much load time there is a rough relationship for that if you do it often enough. Some machines you can program and get a cycle time, thats if its of that type. but time is lost doing that.Machine is not working and your inputing data to do it.

So if just guessing anything would be better...there looks like a disconnect to the shop floor from what you say.

I was kind of thinking some sort of bar code reader machine time job, machine time load, move to next op then total at end. you could also see how long things took to flow through even though it may not be worked on ie the gaps. its only my idea i have not seen anything as yet from what's in my head
do one run check real time. You don't want to spend lots of time in the process of applying it as it defeats having it. Less typing more scanning shortcuts.

If you the can opener EZ Duzit person i actually have one, just purchased it recently and giving it a try instead of the chinese crap i only see. Just got it before the china virus hit and the airplane freight stopped. My mum says the handle is too thin for her old hands and she would like a bigger handle so there is less point contact. as for me it works fine see how we go later on then i will know.

One off jobs are harder to time... AI i would like to know how it determines time and some background on the assumptions made to see if it turns out in real life, a bit of a leap doing it. Some estimating i have seen and the methods they use don't relate to actual processes of making the damm widget and can be widely wrong if there is a difficult feature.

Check out paperless parts. From what I understand, the more you use it, the better it gets at making correct quotes. I know it is able to integrate with a website, not sure about ERP.

We were looking into it about a year ago, but other projects became more important, so i have no first hand experience.

Street said:

If you the can opener EZ Duzit person i actually have one, just purchased it recently and giving it a try instead of the chinese crap i only see. Just got it before the china virus hit and the airplane freight stopped. My mum says the handle is too thin for her old hands and she would like a bigger handle so there is less point contact. as for me it works fine see how we go later on then i will know.

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I have no idea what you are talking about lol. glad you got a nice can opener though

Street said:

One off jobs are harder to time... AI i would like to know how it determines time and some background on the assumptions made to see if it turns out in real life, a bit of a leap doing it. Some estimating i have seen and the methods they use don't relate to actual processes of making the damm widget and can be widely wrong if there is a difficult feature.

Click to expand...

Sure, it cant be perfect. That would be too good to be true. However, think about what we know the computer can do 95% of the time with extreme accuracy. It can determine the volume of the part and the volume of the stock. Therefore, it can calculate how much the material will cost and how much material will need to be removed during machining the machining process. Now it can calculate what size tool will be removing the material based on the minimum internal radius's. Once it knows what tools it can use it can then figure a rough estimate on the time it will take based on the material and tooling selection. The software will definitely have flaws and it only gets better the more you use it. That is the whole premise behind AI learning. For example, if the price it spits out on a part is too high and you don't win the bid - it would realize that and adjust costs on those sorts of parts based on the win ratio.

There's a company called 3diligent with a product called Shopsight that has an estimating tool. I have no affiliation, and I'm highly skeptical. They just sent me a promotional email today. It's subscription based, and there's a free trial, so give it a try and let us know?