Program Description

• Final Additions
• Calculation of Least Cost Charges
• Melt Stock Costing
• Calculating a Campaign of Charges
• Program Copyright Protection
• Additional Features
• Computer Requirements
  
  

Performs least cost final additions calculations also called alloy addition, trim or back charge calculations. Control up to 24 elements, with any matrix element. Integrates with most spectrometer software to perform fast, accurate and easy final additions calculations. The integration passes the chemistry of your sample from the spectrometer software to program.

Least Cost Charge Calculations:

Least Cost Charge Calculations are the heart of the program. You may select as many melt stocks as you wish to calculate the least expensive recipe to charge your furnace to the desired chemistry. The pay back period for the Least Cost Charge Calculation Program has never exceeded two weeks. This program can consider more details, chemistries, costs and availabilities than we humans can so it is only natural that it will calculate lower cost charges.

The melt stock costing feature is four reports that will help you make more cost effective scrap purchases. The first two reports are graphs that show melt stock usage versus cost. These graphs show you how much of a melt stock you would use at various purchase prices. The third report shows what alloys can be made from a given melt stock. If you are looking at an unusual scrap purchase, this report can tell you what the proposed purchase can be used to make and how much of it will be used. The fourth report calculates the relative value of all of your scrap purchases and highlights which ones were not cost effective purchases.

Instead of optimizing charges one at a time, the program can optimize up to 20 charges in one calculation. A campaign of charges calculation will calculate the least expensive recipes for a series, perhaps a week's worth, of charges. A campaign of charges calculation automatically spreads the "good stuff" among the various charges you are planning, resulting in the lowest total cost. A bill of materials is printed which summarizes melt stock usage in the campaign of charges.

• Reports may be labeled with pounds or kilograms. Melt stock costs can have zero or three places to the right of the decimal point.
  
  
• Recovery ratios for melt stocks and element by element loss allowances result in net chemistry and net weight calculations.
  
  
• Additional constraints allow compliance with tramp element containment requirements or more sophisticated requirements such as ASTM specifications.
  
  
• A Relational data base means ease of use. Selecting a furnace range, the specification for the metal you are making, automatically selects appropriate melt stocks and required additional constraints.
  
  
• The program has detailed help for each screen that explains how to use every aspect of the program. The help is clear and complete.
  
  
• Furnace heels are easy to include in a calculation. Minimum usage, maximum usage and inventory constraints can be applied to melt stocks to reflect actual inventory availability and your furnace charging practices.
  
  
• In addition to least cost charges, the program also calculates specific charges. In a specific charge calculation, you select up to 24 melt stocks with specific weights for each and the program calculates the resulting chemistry and weight. The user may also calculate the chemistry of a furnace addition by entering the chemistry of the furnace before and after the addition was made.
  
  
• Melt stocks may now be selected and controlled by groups. You may create a melt stock group and indicate which melt stocks belong to the group. When the group is selected, all of the associated melt stocks will be selected. When the group is deselected, all of the associated melt stocks will be deselected. Melt stock groups may have minimum usage, maximum usage and inventory constraints.
  
  
• All reports appear on the screen where you can review them before printing them.
  
  
• Inventory amounts for melt stocks may be 9,999,999. You may also request a charge of up to 9,999,999 pounds or kilograms.
  
  
• The minimum and maximum usage constraints for melt stocks now have two decimals.
  
  
• The names of the additional constraints associated with a foundry range now appear on the foundry range maintenance screen.
  
  
• You may associate groups of melt stocks with foundry ranges. This means that when you select a foundry range, specific melt stocks will also be selected.
  
  
• The program may be used on a network. Data files may be put on a networked drive.
  
  

Program Copyright Protection:

The production version of the program requires a USB Dongle. This dongle, about 27 mm long, must be inserted into a USB port on your computer to run the program. The dongle only needs to be present when you start the program. This allows you to install and run the program on multiple computers. A dongle will be shipped to you when you purchase the program.

Any Microcomputer running Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows NT or Windows XP. A printer is required to print the reports. Screen resolution of 600 x 800 or higher is recommended.