Crate Pro 6 uses complex algorithms to calculate multi-crate pricing. The calculations are based on real world usage and may be tweaked as needed. So when you change the quantity of crates, the 'cost per crate' will reduce.
Labor time affects your total cost/billing price. There are multiple areas of Crate Pro which are combined to determine labor costs that can be adjusted to fit your shop.
In Preferences module:
SAW STOPS:
When you build multiple crates in a design, Saw Stop time per crate will be reduced directly by the number of crates. Example:
- At each change in material length you will have to reset your saw stop. Your design may have 10 lumber saw stops at 1.140 minutes per stop setting which is set in Preferences -> Times. Your stop setting includes putting the material on saw, setting the stop, checking with a test cut, removing the material. For a single crate this would give you 11.4 minutes in saw stop time. A second crate would not change this total setting since you will not change the stops for the second crate since the material is simply doubled and the expectation is that you'll cut all the same length at the same time. So each crate would result in 5.7 minutes per crate. Additional crates would further reduce the saw stop time per crate by dividing the total saw stop time by the number of crates.
EFFICIENCY:
Time will also be reduced due to efficiency. A sawyer repeating a process over and over will find a rhythm and tend to get faster. This can result in a few seconds to several minutes of saved time depending on the quantity of repeated cuts. This is an internal algorithm which is partially affected by your settings in Preferences ->Influences