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Express Estimator version history

Version 1.17 (Christmas release)

  • Terms and conditions for individual customers
    Terms and conditions for each individual customer can now be modified. You can access the new “terms” tab under the customer company profile. As a shortcut, the customer company name on the RFQ detail page is linked directly to the “terms” tab. If you want to use customized terms for a customer, enable custom settings using the green button, and you can modify the terms fields directly or upload a specific terms document. Next quote created will default to the terms specified in the customer options.
      

 

  • Change currency for the quote 
    At the top of the quote window, you will notice new dropdown displaying your home currency. You can use it to switch the quote to one of eight available currencies, and the entire quote will instantly recalculate based on the selected currency. You can modify the exchange rate as needed, and the system will remember your adjustments for future use if you select this currency for another quote. Additionally, you can set a default currency for individual customers, which will automatically be applied to new quotes for that customer.
       

 

  • Price rounding options in Quote
    The final values of the quote can now be rounded to the precision you choose. The format is straightforward: “#” represents a digit as calculated, while “0” indicates a digit to be rounded. For example, the format “#.00” rounds to the nearest whole number with decimals set to 00. Rounding is always upwards; using the example format, the number 123.45 would become 124.00. A default rounding option can be set in the general settings or customized for individual customers. Additionally, you can adjust the rounding settings for specific quotes as needed.
      

  • Deposit requirement option in Quote
    Terms and conditions now include a new option to indicate whether a deposit payment will be required when a customer places an order. If a value is set, it will be printed on the quote. If left at 0, it will not appear anywhere. Like other options, this setting can be customized for individual customers or specified differently for each quote.
     

  • Text search in operation list in part engineering
    When working with a longer list of operations in part engineering while building a workflow, you can now use a search feature. Operations will be filtered based on your search text, leaving only the matching ones visible for easy selection.


  • Various other improvements
    • Operations cutting raw materials, such as sheets and bars, now display the number of parts per bar or sheet in the operation parameters window
    • The customer’s RFQ reference is now printed on the PDF quote
    • Additionally, various smaller visual and functional improvements have been introduced to enhance your overall experience.

 

Version 1.16

  • Operation Manufacturing Instructions
    All operations are pre-loaded with commonly used instructions. You can modify, remove, or define your own instructions on the operation page under the instructions tab. The instructions defined here are intended to speed up the entry process during part engineering. There, you can quickly select from your predefined standard instructions. Additionally, you can mark the instructions that you always want to be added automatically. Of course, you are still allowed to write very specific instructions for each part.

  

  • Other
    Various smaller visual and quality-of-life improvements.

 

Version 1.15

  • CNC Punching Time Calculation Formula and Technology Update
    The time calculation formula for operations involving CNC punching has been updated to provide more accurate results. Notable improvements include more precise calculations for nibbling times and perforation hits. Overall, the calculation has been enhanced through updates to the technology parameters.
     

 

Version 1.14

  • Material database import
    The ability to import material databases has been added, currently supporting the “.csv” format. Each material type must be imported separately, as there are specific fields relevant only to each type. The documentation for the import file format is displayed once a material type is selected. After uploading the import file, Express Estimator first performs a test run, allowing the import result to be evaluated before any changes are made to the database.

  

 

  • DXF analysis
    The DXF parser was upgraded to handle LWPolyline elements with arcs. DXF analysis data are now correctly generated for these DXF files.

 

  • EE Importer
    A new version, 1.07.0b, was released. An issue with unfolding specific geometries with holes was fixed. The visual style of certain pop-ups and the export progress display were also improved.

 

Version 1.13

  • Material and resource requirements
    A new report has been added to list material and resource requirements for part manufacturing. The report shows all materials, sub-contracts, and internal resources needed to produce the specified quantity of the entire assembly part. It can be accessed in the Part context menu or on the Jobs list page if generated for a job. The report can also be downloaded in PDF and CSV formats for importing into other information systems.

  • Additional costs
    Additional costs have been separated from operation costs on the Markup page. When reviewing the cost of setup and operation, there is now an additional field showing the cost of electricity, cutting gases, additional materials, and extra labor needed. If additional costs seem too high, review the operation’s consumables and additional labor settings.

 

Version 1.12

  • Jobs
    A new section has been added to enable the generation of Job Cards and a Material and Resource report (coming soon). To generate Job Cards for producing a part, you can press a button to create a Job on the Quote History page. This way, the new Job will automatically reference the Quote, Customer, and the part to be produced. Alternatively, you can create a Job from the part’s context menu or directly on the Job page without needing to enter the Quote number if the Job is not created against a Quote. Once the Job is created, you can download the Job Cards as a PDF for printing or export part data for further processing in an external system.

 

 

Version 1.11

  • Presetting Default Values for All Operations
    For in-house operations, a new section has been added to the technology settings page, where default values for parameters can be set. These default values will be automatically pre-filled for any new operation added to the workflow of parts manufacturing definition. There is also an option to remember the last used value, which is useful if the default value tends to change over time. If this option is selected, the next time the operation is added to a part’s workflow, the default value will be taken from the previous part definition where this operation was used. For quick access, a new button has been added to the operation definition window, allowing users to quickly check or modify preset and technology tables. Please note that changes to default values will only affect newly added operations.


 

Version 1.10

  • Help and support features
    The Help section of the Express Estimator main page has been improved. New videos were added and organized into more categories. Quick start videos have been added at the top.
    For customers with a Trial license, there is a ‘Contact Us’ button at the top of the screen. All customers can still use the ‘Support’ button in the left menu to submit issues or ideas.

 

Version 1.09

  • Material search
    A quick search function for selecting materials has been added. You can now search for materials by codes, types, dimensions, or the entire text description of items. You can use multiple or partial words to narrow down the results and quickly find the required materials. The option to browse the database for material selection is still available if you cannot find the material using search terms.
     

 

  • DXF analysis
    • Several optimizations were added to significantly speed up DXF analysis. 
    • An issue with drawing some curved parts of contours was fixed 
    • Bend line detection has been improved to identify bends on holes more accurately.

 

  • Help section
    5 new videos were addded to help section

 

Version 1.08

  • Quote, RFQ, Parts quick search
    In RFQ section there is text search field which acts as a universal search of all items related to RFQ. You can use it to quick search for Quotes, RFQ and Parts by their numbers and quotes, by customer name or customer RFQ reference or product name. Search results are present in 3 groups Quotes, FRQs and Parts. Express Estimator automatically evaluates best matches and presents most relevant results first. Clicking on different result type will bring you to RFQ, Quote history window or Part in RFQ product list. Although the search is very intuitive on it's own, there is a video in EE help section showing how to use this feature.

 

 

Version 1.07

  • Express Estimator Importer (EEi) v1.04b,  v1.03b, 1.02b, 1.01b
    Since the last Express Estimator update, there have been four updates to the Express Estimator Importer. Here is what has changed:
    * Improved the probability of successful model unfolding using different faces as starting points  
    * Turned off autonumbering of part names in the hierarchy with the same name. These are now considered inserts of the same part. After import, they will become one part with multiple quantities needed for the assembly.  
    * Loosened the strictness of matching counterfaces. This improves the chances of successful unfolding if the model has embedded fasteners or forming details. Conversely, it may allow the unfolding of shapes not meant to be made of sheet metal. These can be unselected before import, or deleted after import before creating them in the database of parts.  
    * Some bug fixes like character sets and connectivity issues  
    * Added measures to prevent incorrect unfoldings 

 

  • Bulk quote
    Functionality to create a quote containing multiple parts in one quote has been added. While the existing functionality to create a quote for a single part in RFQ is preserved, you can now create a bulk quote that will contain more or all parts added to the RFQ. Bulk quotes work as a collection of individual part quotes. This gives you the possibility to adjust price discounts for each item individually. However, if parts are sent in one bulk quote, the same terms and conditions are applied to all. If you need to apply special terms to some parts, you can still send an individual quote for such parts with their own terms. 


  • Quote name
    The Quote PDF file created by Express Estimator now has a name in this format  
    Individual part quote: EE_Bost-Elec_1071...1154-1_RFQ#000456_Q#000234-240729-124323.pdf  
    Bulk quote: EE_Bost-Elec_bulk_RFQ#000456_Q#000234-240729-124323.pdf  
    Explanation:
        “_” is a separator between different information  
        “-” is a separator within one piece of information  
        “...” indicates that the middle part of long information was left out  
        EE indicates that the document originates from Express Estimator  
        Bost-Elec is the first 4 letters of the first 2 words of the customer name, separated by “-”  
        1071...1154-1 is a customer part code without the middle part, with a revision number. If this is a bulk quote, it will have “bulk” instead  
        RFQ#000456 is the RFQ number (left-padded by 0 to 6 digits)  
        Q#000234 is the quote number (left-padded by 0 to 6 digits)  
        240729-124323 is the date-time (yymmdd-hhmmss) 

 

  • Many other bug fixes and improvements have also been made.

 

Version 1.06

  • Express Estimator Importer (EEi) v 1.00b
    This Windows desktop application allows you to import 3D part designs into Express Estimator. The link to download it is shown on the main Express Estimator page in the help section. When you run the EEi application on your computer, open a 3D file (.step, .stp, .igs, .fcstd) using the icon in the top toolbar. The 3D design will be displayed for your review. EEi supports the processing of even complex assemblies (up to 1000 subparts). In the hierarchy, you can switch the visibility of subparts and unselect parts that you do not want to import to Express Estimator. 

    When you are ready, press the Export button in the top toolbar. The EEi application will traverse through the hierarchy and attempt to unfold each of the selected parts. Hierarchy information and generated DXF drawings from flat parts will be uploaded to the Express Estimator cloud application. Note that the original 3D file is not uploaded and remains only on your computer. Only anonymous DXF drawings and part codes are exported.

    Once the upload is finished, click on the provided link, which will bring you to your Express Estimator cloud application and present you with the imported part hierarchy and data. At this stage, none of the parts have been saved to your database yet. 3D designs are sometimes imperfect, and it may not be possible to export all DXFs, or sometimes the hierarchy is not defined correctly. Here, you have a chance to correct the imported data, mainly by uploading missing documents and drawings, changing part codes and revisions, making changes in the hierarchy, adding missing parts, etc. There is a button on the top of the page allowing you to show unrecognized items from the import. These are parts that may represent hardware or material or simply non-sheet metal parts. Express Estimator will be progressively updated to recognize more of these types of items. For now, when unrecognized parts are hidden, they will not be created in the database as parts. When shown, they will be created, so when you show unrecognized items, make sure to remove any item that does not represent a part manually. Hit the save button and wait a little; depending on how big the assembly you are importing is, it may take some time to process. Once the assembly is created, you will be taken to the dashboard page of the assembly, where you can click through the hierarchy and finish each part’s manufacturing engineering. For the moment, the application is available only in English.

 

  • Other improvements
    • cost of material is now shown as rounded to 2 decimal places apart from small material like fasteners
    • user right management updated and explained for customers using only Express Estimator
    • user level 1 is now allowed to remove documents from RFQ
    • related cost of material sucha as min price or setup price can be now set to 0 and margin can be even set to negative values
    • many small visual improvements and bug fixes

 

 Version 1.05

  • Mig,Tig and Spot Welding (manual) operations
    The time calculation formulas were updated to account for additional setup time depending on whether a rig is used to fix welded parts. Work time calculation was also made more precise by accounting for additional alignment of the welded parts.

 

  • MIG welding and dressing (manual) operation
    A new operation was added that combines MIG welding and weld grinding operations. This combined operation is suitable when both tasks are performed in one work center at the same time.

 

 

Version 1.04

  • Automatic manufacturing revision control
    Express Estimator allows for automatic manufacturing revision control. Whenever it is necessary to update the manufacturing process, creating a new manufacturing revision will generate a copy of the existing revision, enabling new changes. The previous manufacturing revision will become obsolete, and the new revision will update all references in assemblies or FRQ items. When an alternative workflow is needed for a part that can be manufactured in different ways, there is a copy function that allows the creation of a duplicate of the part. You can customize the part name by including the drawing number and a test that indicates the manufacturing method. This will initiate a new manufacturing revision chain. Both the original part and the new one with the alternative workflow will have their own independent manufacturing revision management. This provides full flexibility in defining and controlling manufacturing definitions.
     

 

  •  Other improvements
    • Bend saw and Circular saw operations time formulas were updated to account for bar trimming
    • Various small UI improvements

 

 

Version 1.03

  • Powder Coating Line and Batch Operations Formulas
    The Express Estimator now automatically calculates times and material usage for powder coating (line) and powder coating (batch) operations. This comprehensive calculation takes into account many parameters that affect material usage and the time needed to paint the part. The part's surface area is also automatically calculated for all part types—sheet, profile, and assembly—with the option to override it and adjust all other parameters as needed.

 

 

  • Part Dashboard Page Redesign
    The main goal of the redesign was to clearly distinguish the part dashboard page from the first page (Drawings) of the engineering section of the part. Additionally, actions to finish and reopen engineering were moved inside the Engineering section of the part. The presentation of the part's lock state within engineering was also simplified to create a cleaner design.

 

  • Other Issues
    • Fixed an issue with the Fiber Laser operation not properly pre-populating cutting length, which previously did not account for the length of internal contours.
    • Fixed an issue with DXF unit conversion involving spline elements.
    • Other small fixes.

 

 

Version 1.02

  • Predictive workflow creation.
    When engineering the part, after part basic information definition and bill of material definition, Express Estimator will predict what kind and what order of operations are needed in order to manufacture such part. Operations are pre-created and material is automatically associated with operations. It is of course possible to freely change the workflow to particular needs.

  • Material to Operations automatic assigment 
    The functionality was improved to better match material with operations

  • Handling calculation
    Handling time calculation has been updated to account for the manufacturing state of the part when a particular operation is performed. For example, when a sheet metal part is manually bent, the manipulation of the part depends on the weight and size of the blank. However, when four parts are welded together, the manipulation time of the assembly part changes after each part is welded to it. Each subsequent operation involves a larger and heavier part to manipulate, depending on what hardware and subparts are attached to the assembly part. Zoomfab now takes all this into account and calculates handling time based on the weight and dimensions of the part at each manufacturing state, including repositioning and manipulation during the operation, as well as loading and manual unloading of the part to the workstation.

  • Help section with video guides
    2 new isntructional videos were added to main section of Express Estimator and PDF guide to learn how to start with Express Estimator. More will be added progressivelly.

  • Many other smaller improvements

Version 1.01

  • Opearation formula for Rivet nut installation was implemented.
  • Tapping (manual) and Polishing and brushing (manual) calculation formulas were reviewed and updated to achieve better calculation precision.
  • Deleting of material or operations that are used to manufacture some products are now protected for user level 1. Only user with administration rights can delete such material or operations from system. Unused material and operations can still be deleted by users with Level 1 as well.
  • Many other smaller improvements and bug fixes.

 

Version 1.0 released

Dear customers, we thank you for all your feedback that helped Express Estimator become production-ready. Our promise is to continue efforts to make it an even more valuable tool for your everyday business. With version 1.0, we are introducing the following improvements:

  • User concurrency handling: Express Estimator is designed for teamwork. Therefore, we have improved collaboration by providing extra protection against data overrides and conflicts. The Part Engineering section and Quote Preparation section are now automatically locked to a particular user when entered and automatically unlocked when the section is left. Other users can access the same pages but in read-only mode while another user updates the information.
  • In the engineering section of the part, the part drawing and part type can now be changed independently and at any time. This is particularly useful when a part is copied and only requires a drawing change, for example.
  • Time calculation formula, technology, and consumables have been added for the "Dressing Welds (Manual)" operation.
  • Updated profiles sample database to properly account for seamless and welded tubes.
  • Visual improvements such as Part icon and others have been made.