INTERACTIVE ENGINEERING LAB
Make the assumptions visible.
Change an input. Follow the calculation. See how a manufacturing decision changes.
Explore machining time, fixture economics and locating clearance with editable examples. Each calculation shows its units, formulas and operating assumptions.
Explore the full project library01 / MACHINING METHODS
From cutting speed to time.
Connect tool diameter, chip load and travel to an explicit cutting-time estimate.
RPM = 1000 × Vc / (π × D)
Feed = RPM × flutes × chip load
Cutting time = travel / feed
Constant feed and full effective travel. Excludes setup, rapid moves, tool changes, acceleration and machine limits. Cutting speed and chip load are illustrative inputs, not tooling recommendations.
02 / FIXTURE ECONOMICS
When does the fixture pay back?
Compare up-front cost against recurring time savings under one clear operating basis.
Break-even: 980 parts under these assumptions.
Total = investment + setup cost + quantity × cycle cost
Break-even = ceiling(fixed-cost difference / per-part saving)
One setup per order; parts run sequentially. Baseline investment is zero. Rate is an invented, editable blended cost. Excludes batches, scrap, tax, utilization and discounted cash flow. A cost comparison is not an approved capital case.
03 / TOLERANCE THINKING
Clearance is only the first check.
Inspect the size limits at each locating pin before considering two-pin pattern error.
Radial allowance: 0.01 mm per location. Positive size clearance does not prove that a two-pin pattern assembles.
Minimum clearance = minimum hole − maximum pin
Radial allowance = positive diametral clearance / 2
Both locations share identical size inputs. This is a size-only illustration; it excludes positional tolerances, center-distance error, form, datum modifiers, temperature and elastic behavior. It does not reproduce the original sampled fit-analysis tool.