3D Model Lifecycle of Money

3D Model Lifecycle of Money

"Money doesn't grow on trees" i.e. money isn't free, is pretty widely accepted - a business has to sell services or goods to make money. Perhaps not so obvious is that, in a business, money has a lifecycle and that lifecycle costs money.

Let's look at a generic company that operates entirely off of its cash flow and doesn't use credit for day to day operations. A simplified money lifecycle might look something like the following where:
'F' = funds (postage, shipping, etc)
'L' = labor
'M' = materials (forms, boxes, etc.)
'T' = time

Lifecycle Start
1. Get Money
   a. Customer Purchase Order Processing
      1. Receive PO   (L, T)
      2. Issue Shop Orders   (L, M, T)
   b. Fulfillment
      1. Pull Inventory   (L, M, T)
      2. Box and Ship   (F, L, M, T)
   c. Customer Invoicing
      1. Create and Send Invoices   (F, L, M, T)
      2. Wait for Payment   (T)
   d. Customer Payment Processing
      1. Receive and Process Payments   (L, M, T)
      2. Reconcile Delinquent Accounts   (F, L, M, T)
2. Keep Money (for some time period)   (T)
3. Spend Money
   a. Purchase Order Processing
      1. Generate Purchase Requisition   (L, M, T)
      2. Create and Send Purchase Orders   (F, L, M, T)
   b. Receive Goods
      1. Receive and Reconcile Shipments   (L, M, T)
      2. Receiving Inspection   (L, M, T)
   c. Invoice Processing
      1. Receive and Reconcile Invoices   (L, T)
      2. Issue Payment Request   (L, M, T)
   d. Payment Processing
      1. Generate and Send Payments   (F, L, M, T)
      2. Reconcile Accounts   (L, M, T)
Lifecyle End

If F, L, M and T all cost money, then the value of a dollar on a customer's PO is significantly reduced by the time it's spent i.e. when its lifecycle has ended. If a company only has one product and one customer, then the reduction in value may be fairly constant. However, if a company has multiple products and/or multiple customers, it is very unlikely that the cost will be constant.

Costs that vary by product or customer are not "overhead". If a company fails to understand the different costs, the company has no hope of maximizing its profit, it will invariably create undesirable price customer combinations. Customers being charged too much may leave. Customers being charged too little may bleed the company dry.

3D Model FANUC Program Transfer

3D Model FANUC Program Transfer

FANUC's Program Transfer Tool does a great job on CNC programs and offsets, but not so great on CNC control parameters. Download and install Fanuc2Numbers to convert parameters like "[26312*65536+46138]/[67108864*32]" into ordinary numbers like "0.80300".

1. Use the Program Transfer Tool to download the control's parameter file to a PC.
2. Start Fanuc2Numbers and "Agree" not to hold me responsible if something goes wrong.
3. Select the "Fanuc" button and browse to the parameter file you downloaded.
4. Select the "New" button and enter a filename for the converted parameters. If you use the same name, it will over write the original file.
5. Select the "Convert" button and you're done. The new file will contain only ordinary numbers.

3D Model Scanner Resolution vs Feature Size

3D Model Scanner Resolution vs Feature Size

The size of a feature that can be reliably detected by a laser scanner is significantly larger than the scanner’s resolution.

A scanner’s resolution or point density is a measure of how closely points are spaced on the surfaces being scanned. A scanner with a resolution of 50µ (.050mm) will record a point every 50µ if the scanner is perpendicular to the surface being scanned. As it is not generally possible to always scan perpendicular to all surfaces, the scan angle should be taken into account. For instance, at an angle of 45 degrees, the distance between points increases to approximately 71µ. Once the point spacing is known, detectible feature size can be calculated.

The laser never captures 100% of any feature and the closer the point density is to the size of the feature, the lower the percentage of capture. A 1mm feature scanned with 70µ point spacing can be detected to 93% and a 0.5mm feature to 86%. Conversely, the size of the feature can be calculated. For an 80% capture with 70µ point spacing, the feature must be at least 0.35mm.