aPriori v6 Extends Integration to Leading 3D CAD Systems; Real-time “Should Cost” Assessments

Enable Engineering, Manufacturing and Sourcing Departments to Make Better Decisions that Reduce Product Costs

CONCORD, Mass. (Business Wire EON/PRWEB ) October 6, 2008 -- aPriori today announced the availability of aPriori v6, the newest version of its market-leading Product Cost Management software platform. With innovative capabilities that provide real-time, predictive and precise product cost assessments, aPriori v6 empowers manufacturing organizations to significantly reduce product costs and direct material spend by identifying quantifiable savings in material, tooling, labor and overhead while evaluating alternative designs, processes and sources.

With support for additional 3D CAD formats and manufacturing processes, aPriori v6 will help even more manufacturing organizations achieve their internal product cost targets and external spend reduction goals.

“When your employees know the cost impact of the product decisions they make as they make them, they drive more costs out of the products you manufacture. aPriori is designed to provide real-time cost feedback to everyone in the enterprise – from engineering to manufacturing to sourcing and more – so that employees can make faster, more-informed decisions that ultimately result in lower product costs,” said Eric Arno Hiller, Founder and Chief Product Officer at aPriori. “With support for additional 3D CAD formats and manufacturing processes, aPriori v6 will help even more manufacturing organizations achieve their internal product cost targets and external spend reduction goals.”

Support for Additional Manufacturing Processes & CAD File Formats

Enables More Organizations to Automatically Cost Their Parts & Products

aPriori v6 features support for additional 3D CAD file formats with integration to CATIA^® v5, and Siemens PLM NX^®. Combined with its existing integration to Pro/ENGINEER^® Wildfire and enhanced support for industry standards including STEP, aPriori v6 significantly extends its ability to cost parts and products automatically and instantly from solid model files. By extending CAD file support, aPriori v6 enables both CAD-users and non-CAD users to cost parts and assemblies in real-time.

aPriori v6 also introduces the ability to cost parts and products manufactured through Bar & Tube Fabrication processes. The new Bar & Tube process group module adds automated costing capabilities for bar, tube, angle and channel stock using numerous cutting, sawing, punching, bending and forming processes. The Bar & Tube process group module joins the aPriori library of supported processes that includes Sheet Metal Fabrication, Sand Casting, Die Casting, Injection Molding, Machining, Stage Tooling, and Welded Assembly.

In addition to CAD file support and new process support, aPriori v6 includes a number of new capabilities and tools to help sourcing, manufacturing and engineering users know how much a part or product will cost to produce. Select improvements include:

• One-Click Costing – When evaluating alternative designs, materials, manufacturing processes and/or manufacturing locations, users can generate an up-to-the-second cost assessment with a single mouse click.
• Enhanced Welded Assembly Costing – aPriori v6 makes it even easier to assess the costs of a welded assembly. From within the aPriori interface, users can apply various weld types directly to an assembly and aPriori will automatically determine the costs to apply the weld and add it to the rolled-up assembly cost.
• Factory Data Maintenance Tools – To ensure cost assessments are as accurate as possible, aPriori uses a customer’s (and/or their suppliers’) individual material, labor and overhead rates. aPriori v6 adds capabilities to allow customers to easily update the system to reflect the most current rates as well as create new factories and/or suppliers.
• 3-D Assembly Visualization – aPriori’s new CAD model viewer allows all users – regardless of whether or not they use a CAD application – to view and manipulate the costs of parts and assemblies.
• Usability Enhancements – aPriori is designed to be used by everyday business users, not just cost experts. With customizable screen layouts; tools and controls; flowchart-style process routing editors; and more, aPriori v6 continues to revolutionize how employees across multiple business functions can reduce product costs with better access to product cost information.

About aPriori

aPriori software and services generate hard-dollar product cost savings for discrete manufacturing organizations. Using aPriori’s real-time product cost assessments, employees in sourcing, manufacturing and design engineering make more-informed decisions that drive costs out of products pre- and post-production. With aPriori, manufacturers launch products at cost targets, maximize savings in re-work projects and never overpay for sourced parts.

To learn more about aPriori and its product cost management solutions and services, or to see an online demonstration, visit www.apriori.com or call 1.978.371.2006.

aPriori and aPriori Technologies are registered trademarks of aPriori Technologies Inc. All other trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks belong to their respective holders.

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reduce product costs reduce direct material spend product cost management

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