time estimation

[tgegeny]

Hello,

Do you have any working method to estimate the required time for build a model with CREO 2.0?

Based on what and how can we plan the required time for a model?

If you have any idea, PLEASE share with me!

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[StephenW]

Your question is too broad. I can build a model of a cube in about 10 seconds. It takes about me about 3 months to design and build an assembly of my current product.  You need to ask a more specific question.

[JWayman]

On the contrary, I think it's a great question.

If I am estimating a new project/product, I have an idea of the likely number of new parts, sub-assemblies and their likely complexity. From that, I could calculate a reasonably accurate cost to produce the models and drawings, if I only had some well-defined relationship between number of features and time to model, or something similar.

Generally speaking, I (and, I suspect, most of us) chronically under-estimate the time it will take to model something and produce a drawing of that model. This happens partly because I (we) find it difficult to justify, even to ourself, the real time it takes, so we think 'I can't put X hours, it should only take Y hours'.

If there were a rigorously produced, defensible, data-driven rule of thumb for estimating model/drawing production, it would make life simpler for lots of us.

Sadly, I doubt if such a thing is available.

It has potential for a Friday discussion topic...

Cheers,

John

[ptc-4789391]

I so agree with you. My biggest problem is justifying to myself, first, then to my client, the time, and therefore cost, to create CAD models and dimensioned drawings of their products. I have come up with a spreadsheet for my own use that works rather well for already-existing products that just need to be documented in CAD, but what is much harder is trying to estimate the time and cost to design something new, from scratch. I repeatedly underestimate the time it will take me, and thus eat some of the cost associated with providing the first-run design.

Unfortunately, whatever rule of thumb anyone comes up with will be only a starting point for any individual CAD operator. We all use CAD in different ways, with different techniques, so to say it would take X number of minutes to create Y feature is not necessarily true. Also, as our skills improve, things take different times to do, so the rules of thumb need to be adjusted on a periodic basis.

All that being said, I would welcome any attempt at creating rules of thumb for estimating CAD time.