Plasma Pricing app...

[davek0974]

Thanks!

All done, seems a good addition.

I have also tidied up the save/update function and a few other tweaks.

[tnbndr]

Looks good!

[AdrianH]

Just to say thanks Dave for the application (Program)!

I downloaded it yesterday and must admit to struggling a lot with it to get it to run under Windows 10. main issues have been with the file path to where it decides to store it's working files, but got it working and found it was miles out. Finally sorted by manually entering in the files direct £ and cm units (2 hours later, I hate new windows).

Anyway I have also installed it on my Linux desktop under wine which is a windows simulator and I have it working within 10 minutes of starting.

So now to get used to the program and see how it fits for me.

Thanks again

Adrian

[davek0974]

Excellent, thanks for the update.

I do apologise to all for the slightly out of date installer - i learnt Visual Basic many many years ago and just stuck with it, i'm too old to start afresh with a new language now, not got the time or the inclination TBH

Windows 10 really does bend things but it generally works in the end, great you got it going on Linux too

[matze-atze-sch]

Hey Adrian,

can you tell us how you get it to run under Windows 10?

Best regards
Marcel

[AdrianH]

Hey Adrian,

can you tell us how you get it to run under Windows 10?

Best regards
Marcel

With about 2 hours of struggle, but here goes.

Run the installer as Dave has set out and then unzip the update and install that over the installed executable.

The above should!!! be in C:\Program Files(x86)\Plasma Estimator\

Now as I run Sheetcam I have placed a few directories in my documents for this and for sheetcam to output files, so I have the following folders:
C:\Users\Adrian\Documents\Sheetcam\Gcode
C:\Users\Adrian\Documents\Sheetcam\Jobs
C:\Users\Adrian\Documents\Sheetcam\Machine
C:\Users\Adrian\Documents\Sheetcam\Materials
C:\Users\Adrian\Documents\Sheetcam\Operations
C:\Users\Adrian\Documents\Sheetcam\Parts
C:\Users\Adrian\Documents\Sheetcam\Posts
C:\Users\Adrian\Documents\Sheetcam\Project Group
C:\Users\Adrian\Documents\Sheetcam\Reports
C:\Users\Adrian\Documents\Sheetcam\Tools

Some of the above are used from Sheetcam, i.e. where I put my own posts for Sheetcam to use, Tools for my own plasma tools. Reports where Sheetcam output it's reports. etc.

Some I made up for plasma estimator.

setup.png

In the setup for Plasma estimator I have the file locations as above.

I have also created a shortcut folder on the desktop point to :
C:\Users\Adrian\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\program Files (x86)\Plasma estimator v3

That way I could change the files directly.

One problem I had took a while to solve and that was the units were never correct until I changed 'file system units.txt' to be in my case
"£"
"cm"

After that the output started to become more realistic.

I hope the idea helps, I am struggling to determine for myself what is a reasonable rate when I only do this as a hobby what one charges in the UK for a pierce grinding dross off etc (yes I have dross as hobby setup and not Hypertherm etc). I get asked occasionally to cut things out and if I have the steel I will, but sometimes I do not wish to be under-valued and on the other hand do not wish to be too expensive to put friends off. The idea is if I can put the info in the program it gives a justification to reasonable costs.


Anyway have a play with the above see if it works and gets Daves program working on more computers, I have not played a lot with it on windos as I got it to run in Linux.

Adrian

Forgot to say in Windows explorer I have to change the settings so I could see system files and folders and hidden files etc.

[davek0974]

Thanks for that Adrian, it all helps as i do not have Win10 to play with here

As for rates, don't undersell yourself just because its a hobby. I would suggest two rates, a 'friends' rate and a 'shop' rate, both are below commercial rates but maybe go with something like £25 & £50 per hour respectively, materials - always double the cost to cover handling, stacking, storing, loading and unloading your table and to cover some of the cost in tidying up - dross etc, I have Hypertherm and still get dross, it goes with the job i think especially on arty stuff, straight cuts are usually ok.

[motoguy]

Fresh windows install (Win7 64)...time to download this handy little guy again! Just wish I'd kept my stored info on sheet pricing! lol

[motoguy]

Annnnd of course, it's not working now. LOl I d/l and installed the "original" installer. Installed program. Downloaded the updated .exe file, and copied over the (old) .exe in the installed directory.

Opened everything, it worked fine. Changed settings in setup ($, inches, labor rates, etc). Deleted all the materials out of the list, as I was going to add mine in. Closed the program before adding in the new materials. When I re-open the program, it opens fine. If I click on the "setup" option, I just get the spinny-wheel until it crashes. If I try to load a part, I get "Run Time error '339': Component 'mscomctl.ocx' or one of it's dependencies not correctly registered: a file is missing or invalid".

I've uninstalled and reinstalled a few times now with no success. Ideas on a repair?

ETA: I d/l mscomctl.ocx, and installed in the syswow64 directory. Registered it using command prompt (as admin) regsvr32. Re-ran the program, using XP compatibility mode. I'm not sure which of these fixed the problem, but it's now up and running.

ETA: Well, spoke too soon. Tried to open it again, same problem. Going to properties, and forcing it to run in Win XP SP2 compatibility mode seems to have fixed it. I've opened/closed it several time now without problem.

[davek0974]

I had the same issue, you need to copy the dll into two places, one was syswow and the other was system32 IIRC, it was on the web somewhere.

The wonders of windows.

I think the issue is caused by the installer being too old - this cant be fixed I'm afraid

[motoguy]

I had the same issue, you need to copy the dll into two places, one was syswow and the other was system32 IIRC, it was on the web somewhere.

The wonders of windows.

I think the issue is caused by the installer being too old - this cant be fixed I'm afraid

Good call. Copied it into system32 as well, then disabled "run in XP SP2" compatibility setting. Seems to be working fine.

Everything seemed to be working fine until I made changes in setup (check boxes, labor amount, removed -all- material). Did something there cause the initial choke? Perhaps having the materials list be empty?

[davek0974]

Maybe - i always had at least one material loaded

[motoguy]

Just installed it into the "new" Win10 machine at my new location. The old install is on my old machine at home. This little app has been invaluable for me. Thanks again Dave for the creation!

Went through the "usual" issues with Win10...wouldn't put the job report file in the sheetcam directory, though it showed it (in the same directory??) when trying to open the report in the app. Eventually, I just "cut" the folder out while looking in the app, "pasted" it to my desktop, then moved it from the desktop to the correct sheetcam/languange/en/html directory. Everything else seems to be working fine.

I also Teamview'ed into my home machine, and just copied all the info to the app directory on the new machine. Looks like it brought all my materials/pricing information over. Sweet! BTW, I noticed on the Win10 machine it's not sticking stuff in the "appdata" directory...just in the c/programs files (x86)/ directory (as it should, IMO). Sheetcam still has a users/appdata folder, though.

Thanks again!

[davek0974]

Glad you like it.

Win10 is a complete nightmare i'm afraid, one reason why i still use a MAC with virtual machines on it and Win7 / XP still

Its time they came out with some proper software for PC's IMHO

[alexpez23]

Hi There, Can anyone tell me if this software is still available please as it would be very handy.

Cant find anything in the UK that works

Regards

Alex

[davek0974]

Hi There, Can anyone tell me if this software is still available please as it would be very handy.

Cant find anything in the UK that works

Regards

Alex

Hi

I withdrew it a short while back as my ability to keep it working with newer operating systems was practically zero.

I have also retired now and do not plasma cut anymore so do not tend to follow the industry.

Sorry I can't be of any more help

It really needs someone to write a mobile app to do this stuff i think


Dave

[Joe Jones]

I created this. You can load it into your PC and make changes as needed.

Enjoy!

Joe

2022 PRICING CALCULATOR.xlsx

[plasmanewbie]

I like your calculator Joe, that's pretty awesome. Thanks for sharing that.

[Joe Jones]

If you know how to manipulate the cells and formulas of a standard spreadsheet, this will work very well for you. As long as you change ONLY the values in the BLUE BOXES, you shouldn't get into too much trouble.

I have modified it so you can enter your own price-per-square-inch prices of the various sheets of metal, and select several to display via the drop down lists in those cells. There are three cells for "additional work" like sandblasting, painting, and powder coating, all priced per-square-inch and ASSUMING you are going to treat BOTH sides of the piece.

I have added other features too, and I will probably continue to help it evolve. I am always open to SUGGESTIONS!

Joe

[davek0974]

It was written for XP, use compatibility mode. This software is very out of date now and I am not updating it any more, haven't done for many years now. I fully retired 4 years ago


Dave

[Nnorman1]

Is this still available?

[Joe Jones]

Is this still available?

Yes it is.

If you cannot download it from here, send me an email and I will reply with the file attached.

Joe

2022 PRICING CALCULATOR.xlsx