Machine costs, calculation

It was reported by Enviroaccess in 1996 that the purchase of an Amphibex excavator required a total investment of between 395,000 and 450,000, depending on the tools needed. It was not specified whether this amount was listed in Canadian or U.S. dollars. Operating costs, calculated on an annual basis of 2000 hr of work, are about 80/hr. This amount does not include personnel costs (operators and labor) but does take into account annual depreciation of the machine, insurance, routine maintenance, fuel costs, and normal wear and tear (D18700S, p. 2). 

Ab initio calculations are relatively slow the geometry and IR spectra (= the vibrational frequencies) of propane can be calculated at a reasonably high level in minutes on a personal computer, but a fairly large molecule, like a steroid, could take perhaps days. The latest personal computers, with 2 or more GB of RAM and a thousand or more gigabytes of disk space, are serious computational tools and now compete with UNIX workstations even for the demanding tasks associated with high-level ab initio calculations. Indeed, one now hears little talk of workstations , machines costing ca. 15,000 or more [1],... 

The calculation of internal costs is based on the estimated total useful life of the equipment for determination of the proportional equipment costs per year not including the tax benefits of depreciation. For an expected total useful life of 10 years, a purchase price of 100 000 DM gives proportional machine costs of 10 000 DM/year. It is assumed here that the extent of utilization of the machine remains the same during the whole of its useful life (see also Table 12-1). 

Table 12-2. Calculation of machine costs per measurement result...

The machine cost per measurement as a function of the extent of use of the equipment is shown in Table 12-3. In this calculation, it is assumed that the machine is operated on 250 days of the year. The calculations are as shown in Table 12-2. A medium work rate of 1000-5000 measurements per year was assumed. For a very high or a very low extent of utilization of the GC/MS, a modification of the fundamental basis of the calculation is necessary. As can be seen from Table 12-3, the machine costs per measurement result are 21.20 DM if there are only four measurements per working day. This amount decreases considerably with a small increase in the equipment work rate, becoming < 7.00 DM per measurement result for 16 measurements per working day. A graph of the GC/MS machine costs of a measurement result plotted against the number of urine samples analyzed per year is shown in Fig. 12-1. 

Analysis by GC/MS has always been wrongly regarded as extremely costly, and we consider this point in the chapter Internal Cost Calculation . We show that the costs of analysis depend mainly on the loading on the machine and that large synergy effects and low analysis costs can be achieved as a result of the wide range of potential applications of GC/MS in clinical chemistry. 

Machining cost can be calculated by the machining time times a machine and operator overhead rate. 2.7.2. Estimated Product Quality... 

Modem ceramic cutting materials like SiAION have proven to push the limits of material removal rates for cutting of nickel base materials. Economical calculations have shown that the substitution of cemented carbide tool by SiAION enables a machining cost reduction of 28 % (Wiemann 2006). 

Q the rate of inspection consists of two main costs labor costs and tool/test costs. Parvadeh mine, usually, conduct visual inspection because of the specific working condition, for instance limited space and light and low accessibility to machine parts. Therefore the cost of tools and tests was negligible. The calculated labor cost in Parvadeh mine was 0.125 /min. Using this cost, if we know the mean time of inspection then we can calculate the labor cost. The inspections usually take in average 25 minutes for cutting arms. As a result, the inspection cost calculated for this system is 3.125. ... 

Calculating power developed by the expander before breaker opening, is described in Step 1. The generator power, can be measured by using a kilowatt transducer. The kilowatt transducer (or current transducer) is typically available in the motor/generator control panel. If not, it can be added to the machine at a low cost. Knowing both J(,gf and Jg, can be calculated. 

As shown in Fig. 2.24.2, in large plants the absorption system is more economical than compressor installations, independently of the price of steam or electricity. The low maintenance cost are reflected in the calculation, but the high uptime and reduced production interruption should also be accounted for in an evaluation no large, heavy moving machine parts are the reason for this advantage. 

With the plant interview information, verification of the data, and the completion of the simple calculations, an experienced troubleshooter will develop a set of hypotheses for the root cause of the defect. After the hypotheses are established, a series of experiments need to be developed that accept or reject the hypotheses. Once a hypothesis is accepted via experimentation, then the next step is to develop a technical solution to remove the defect. Often more than one technical solution Is possible. The best technical solution will depend on the cost and time to implement the solution, machine owner acceptance, and the risk associated with the modified process. An accepted hypothesis must drive the technical solution. If a hypothesis is not accepted prior to developing a technical solution, then the troubleshooter may be working on the wrong problem and the defect may not be eliminated from the process. 

The results of the computer calculation are shown in the next two pages. (The program was altered to produce only a short output, omitting the mole fractions.) It is apparent that the number of iterations to the converged solution, 80, is large. The time of solution on an IBM 704 computer was 10.3 min., which when roughly translated into operation on a more modern machine at prevailing industrial rates costs about... 

The fact that these calculators are ill suited to long sequential calculations is due mainly to the limited facilities associated with their small size and relatively low cost. To some extent this is not an inherent limitation, but it does not pay to increase the size of a punched-card calculator indefinitely without making a radical change in the basic structure of the machine. Such a change will bring us in the next section to the stored-program type of calculator. 

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