An automated seal selection, seal design, manufacturing, and post sales
system allows a distributor or untrained user to select a replacement
seal for a pump. The automated system designs and engineers the seal,
whether standard or special, and creates all drawings, documentation,
quotations, and other output forms. The automated system initiates
selection from inventory or purchasing of materials to be used in the
manufacturing operations, creates all manufacturing CNC programs for the
components to be manufactured and downloads to CNC from manufacturing
equipment. The system allows selection of a seal based upon a seal part
number, or selection of a seal based upon the pump into which the seal
will be installed and the operating conditions of the pump. The pump may
be defined by searching through a database of existing pumps, or may be
defined as a new pump if it is not in the pump database. Results of a
previous compatibility analysis, perhaps performed by the seal
manufacturer, may be accessed for existing pumps, or an on-line
compatibility analysis may be performed for new pumps, to determine
whether an existing seal fits the pump with no modifications. If no
existing seal fits, the system provides two options. In a first option, a
special seal is specified which will fit the pump with no modifications
to the pump. An integrated design system determines dimensions for the
special seal and its various components in real time providing immediate
quotations including drawings. With a second option, modifications to the
pump are defined so that a standard seal will fit. After a seal is
specified, the system recommends materials of construction and allows the
customer to select materials and other selectable options. The system
then outputs a proposal including drawings with full dimensions, price,
modification notes, warnings, a complete bill of materials, an order
form, quote form and a dimensions verification form. The system then
stores the information in a plant standardization survey for future
retrieval. If an order is received, the drawings created using the system
may be transferred to a manufacturing center where CNC programs are
created in real time enabling immediate manufacturing. All engineering,
design, and manufacturing programs may be created without human
intervention. The system generated CNC programs may be automatically
downloaded to the machine for manufacturing without human intervention.