Method and System for Determining an Alternative Configuration of a Molding Machine Component and Presenting Such Alternative Configuration to a Customer

• US 20110029402A1
• Filed: 05/21/2009
• Published: 02/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Husky Injection Molding Systems Limited
• Original Assignee: Husky Injection Molding Systems Limited
• Inventors: Irwin, Robert Frederick
• Application Number:
  US12/936,524
• Publication Number:
  US 20110029402A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26.5
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2113/22 Moulding
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/00 Computer-aided design [CAD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0621 Item configuration or customization

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention teach a method and system for determining an alternative configuration of a molding machine component and presenting such alternative configuration to a customer. For example, a method (300) for determining an alternative configuration for a customer configuration of a molding machine component is provided. The method (300) comprises: receiving (302) an indication of the customer configuration for at least a portion of the molding machine component from a customer (204); determining (304) an alternative configuration for at least a portion of the customer configuration; generating (306) a variance parameter, based on the customer configuration and the alternative configuration.

Claims

1. A method (300) for determining an alternative configuration for a customer configuration of a molding machine component, the method (300) comprising:

receiving (302) an indication of the customer configuration for at least a portion of the molding machine component from a customer (204);

determining (304) the alternative configuration for at least a portion of the customer configuration;

generating (306) a variance parameter, based on the customer configuration and the alternative configuration.

2. The method (300) of claim 1, further comprising causing the variance parameter to be presented to the customer (204).

3. The method (300) of claim 2, wherein the variance parameter spells out variance between the customer configuration and the alternative configuration.

4. The method (300) of claim 2, further comprising receiving from the customer (204) an indication of a desire to proceed with the alternative configuration.

5. The method (300) of claim 1, wherein said determining (304) comprises executing a comparison algorithm.

6. The method (300) of claim 5, wherein the comparison algorithm compares one or more parameters associated with the customer configuration with one or more parameters associated with a previously ordered configuration in order to render whether the previously ordered configuration is a similar one to the customer configuration.

7. The method (300) of claim 6, wherein the previously ordered configuration is associated with the customer (204).

8. The method (300) of claim 7, wherein a first one of the previously ordered configuration is associated with the customer (204) and a second one of the previously ordered configuration is associated with another customer.

9. The method (300) of claim 6, wherein the one or more parameters includes one or more of a plate width, plate height and pitch.

10. The method (300) of claim 6, wherein the comparison algorithm is configured to retrieve a customer standard associated with the customer (204) and, based on the customer standard, determines which ones of the one or more parameters should be compared.

11. The method (300) of claim 1, wherein said alternative configuration comprises a plurality of alternative configurations and wherein said generating (306) comprises generating a plurality of variance parameters, each of the plurality of variance parameters corresponding to a given one of the plurality of alternative configurations.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said alternative configuration is aligned with a configuration objective.

13. The method (300) of claim 12, wherein said configuration objective comprises at least one of a cost objective, a selling price objective, a performance objective and a lead time objective.

14. A system (200) for determining an alternative configuration for a customer configuration of a molding machine component, the system (200) comprising:

a processing entity (212) associated with a vendor (206) of the molding machine component, the processing entity (212) operatively coupled to a communication network (208), the processing entity (212) being operable to;

receive an indication of the customer configuration for at least a portion of the molding machine component from a customer (204);

determine the alternative configuration for at least a portion of the customer configuration;

generate a variance parameter, based on the customer configuration and the alternative configuration.

15. The system (200) of claim 14, further comprising a customer computing apparatus (202) coupled to the communication network (208), wherein the customer computing apparatus (202) is configured to:

capture the indication of the customer configuration from the customer (204) and transmit same to the processing entity (212) over the communication network (208);

receive the variance parameter from the processing entity (212); and

present the variance parameter to the customer (204).