James Mason

Setting out the desk…

The 3D desk needs JavaScript. Every project is listed below, and each has a page of its own.This browser draws 3D without graphics acceleration, so the desk would be slow. Every project is listed below.

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Automation & systems

The desk

Professional · TPI Aerospace Limited · Google Sheets

Live BOM system

A live bill of materials for the modular Type. 29 mixer. Enter how many of each chassis and module are being built, and it works out how many of every part the batch needs.

A spreadsheet: a column of chassis sizes and module types with their build quantities in yellow, and below it a parts list in sections, each part with its total quantity, supplier and where it is used. The formula bar shows one total adding up two modules' quantities.
The calculatorThe calculator: how many of each chassis and module to build (yellow), then every part totalled for that build.Illustration with placeholder parts
One module's sheet: its build quantity at the top, taken from the calculator, and its parts in sections, each with the quantity for one module.
A module's own sheetOne sheet per chassis and module: its own parts, by section, for one unit, with its build quantity taken from the calculator.Illustration with placeholder parts
The master list with a nut's quantity selected; the formula bar shows it is the screw's quantity in the row above.
Parts that go togetherParts that go together: a nut's quantity follows its screw's.Illustration with placeholder parts

My role

I built it independently: the structure, a parts sheet for every chassis and module, and the calculator.

  • Structure and development of the system
  • The Type. 29 part quantity calculator

The problem

Type. 29 is hard to plan for. The chassis comes in different sizes, customers choose which modules they want and how many of each, and different modules share parts, so how many of each part a set of builds needs is difficult to work out by hand.

How it works

Each chassis size and module type has its own sheet, listing its parts by section with the quantity for one unit. The calculator takes how many of each are being built, multiplies every list by it and adds up the parts they share into one master list.

The master list

Every part for the build, grouped as metalwork, electronics, connectors, manufacturing parts and fasteners, with its quantity, its supplier, their part number and where it is used. Parts that go together follow each other: a nut's quantity is its screw's.

Credits

  • Illustrations recreated from the real sheet's layout, with placeholder parts and generic module names: the real part details are confidential

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