Manufacturing cost estimating

Caterpillar's ACT Group uses Micro Estimating Systems' computer-aided estimating program to increase efficiency and decrease operating costs in powder-metal part manufacturing.

Brochures for Caterpillar's Advanced Compacting Technology (ACT) Group urge prospective customers to increase profits by breaking with tradition. While other companies might use similar slogans to create interest, for the ACT Group breaking with traditional manufacturing techniques has become a tradition of sorts.

Powder metallurgy, or P/M as it is known within the industry, is the heart and soul of ACT Group activities. Although the ancient Egyptians used primitive P/M techniques to build tools thousands of years ago, it was not until the early 1900s that the techniques were used in their first modern industrial applications. Caterpillar started experimenting with the use of P/M at its East Peoria, IL, plant in 1971 because its suppliers could not provide parts that met the required design criteria. In 1994, anew 13,400-m² (144,000-ft²) facility dedicated to P/M was built in Rockwood, TN, and the ACT Group was officially formed to meet the growing demand for P/M services.