| ME Weights 3.0 |
| Configure | Inputs | Assemblies | Cavities | Save Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shapes | Outputs | Quantity | Live View | Clear Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Materials | Limits | Add Item | Print Data | Programming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Units | A Trick | Remove Item | Zero Item | Buy/Support | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ME Weights is a program designed to calculate the weight and volume of an object of a specific shape and size, and composed of a specific material. The shape can be selected from a group of twenty commonly used in manufacturing, industrial, commercial, and hobbyist activities. There's a substantial built-in database of material densities (weight per specified volume), or you can input your own value.
The program can also keep track of the combined weight and volume of any combination of shapes, whether defined as solid entities or as cavities (see Assemblies). Assembly data can be viewed, printed, and saved.
| Top |
ME Weights creates a small configuration file the first time it's run (weights.ini). This file is located in the same directory as the main program. There are three startup options that can be set and saved by editing weights.ini with an ASCII text editor.
assemblytracker=on assembly tracker visible at startup
assemblytracker=off assembly tracker not visible at startup
weightunits=inches units initialized to inches at startup
weightunits=feet units initialized to feet at startup
weightunits=millimeters units initialized to millimeters at startup
weightunits=meters units initialized to meters at startup
weightdecimals=1 display one decimal place at startup
weightdecimals=2 display two decimal places at startup
weightdecimals=3 display three decimal places at startup
These options can be changed at any time from within the program by using the appropriate controls in the frame above the program title. Changes made in this way aren't saved.
Select a shape from any displayed in the frame at the left edge of the main window. Depending on which you pick, you'll have to furnish from one to six dimensions before a volume and weight calculation can be made. The labels above the input boxes will change to fit the requirements of the active shape.
In the case of FABRICATIONS (pipe, angles, channels, I-Beams), you'll have to select a size from the drop-down list. Except for the length, all inputs for the selected size will be entered automatically. These values represent industry standard dimensions and can't be modified.
| Top |
Choose a material category by clicking on the appropriate option button in the MATERIAL frame at top center (METAL, WOOD, PLASTIC, OTHER, or USER-DEFINED), then select a specific material from the drop-down list. In the case of pre-defined materials, the density will be displayed, to the right of the drop-down, in pounds per cubic inch (INCHES or FEET mode) or grams per cubic centimeter (MILLIMETERS or METERS mode).
If the USER-DEFINED option is chosen because the material you need isn't listed, the density display box will be cleared and become an input box. The red input button below it will turn green, as a signal that the density box is ready to accept data. Input the density you need, in the appropriate units. The value will remain active until you change it or select a pre-defined material category.
Dimensions can be entered in any combination of inches, feet, millimeters, and meters.
The current input mode is displayed at the top of the INPUTS frame. You can enter everything in the same mode, or switch around as you dimension a shape. Selection of the input mode is done in the CONFIGURATION frame, above the program title.
As an example, if you had round stock with an outside diameter of thirty millimeters and a length of ten feet, you could input the diameter in MILLIMETERS, then switch to FEET for the length.
All values display in the currently selected mode.
| Top |
After a shape is selected, the cursor will appear in the upper-left input box, the label will turn black, and the input button will turn green, all as a signal that the box is ready to accept data. After valid data is received, the cursor will go to the next input box and the process will be repeated until the shape is completely defined. For shapes where they are geometrically possible, internal and external fillets are established and initialized to zero. They're skipped in the first run-through - you can go back and change their values later if you want to.
Note that FEET mode is not the same as feet and inches - to input 1 foot 6 inches while in FEET mode, you could enter 1.5 or 1+6/12 or 1 6/12 or 1+(6/12), but not 1 6.
If you input a value that's outside the program limits (see Limits) or is geometrically impossible because of other data you've already entered, the program will adjust your entry to the closest possible legitimate value. For example, if you have circular tubing and input an outside diameter of 6.000 (inches), you can't input a bore diameter greater than 5.998 or a wall thickness greater than 2.999 or less than .001 - otherwise you wouldn't have circular tubing. Likewise, negative numbers or expressions that evaluate to negative numbers aren't allowed - they're adjusted upward to meet the minimum requirements of the material shape.
This limit checking can be useful if you want the program to calculate a maximum possible value. Say you have rectangular tubing with outside dimensions of 4 1/4" x 7 1/2". The tubing has a uniform wall thickness of 3/8". What's the largest internal fillet radius possible? Just put an impossibly large number (999 always works in INCH mode) in the INTERNAL FILLET box and click the green input button - the program will calculate and display 1.750 as the largest value that is geometrically possible with that specific tubing.
There are two options for making simple one-shot calculations.
If you know the volume of an object and the material density, selecting the USER INPUT VOLUME mode lets you input the volume and calculate the weight.
If you know the weight of an object and the material density, selecting the USER INPUT WEIGHT mode lets you input the weight and calculate the volume.
Outputs are displayed in U.S. or metric formats.
Once you've input all the required dimensions, the volume and weight data will be calculated and displayed. At this point, you can change the dimensional values, quantity, or input mode at will to evaluate the effect on volume and weight. Changing the material type will cause a recalculation and redisplay of volume and weight. Changing the material shape clears all boxes, and you start from scratch.
Outputs in INCHES or FEET mode are in cubic inches (volume) and pounds (weight). Outputs in MILLIMETERS or METERS mode are in cubic centimeters (volume) and kilograms (weight).
| Top |
Maximum Length (Fabrications): 720 inches or 60 feet or 18288 millimeters or 18.288 meters
Maximum Length (Other): 300 inches or 25 feet or 7620 millimeters or 7.62 meters
Minimum Length: .001 inches or .0254 millimeters
Maximum Outside Diameter: 100 inches or 8.333 feet or 2540 millimeters or 2.54 meters
Minimum Outside Diameter: .001 inches or .0254 millimeters
Maximum Inside Diameter (Bore): 99.998 inches or 8.333 feet or 2539.949 millimeters or 2.539 meters
Minimum Inside Diameter (Bore): .001 inches or .0254 millimeters
Maximum Thickness - Width - Height: 100 inches or 8.333 feet or 2540 millimeters or 2.54 meters
Minimum Thickness - Width - Height: .001 inches or .0254 millimeters
Maximum Wall: 49.999 inches or 4.166 feet or 1269.975 millimeters or 1.269 meters
Minimum Wall: .001 inches or .0254 millimeters
Maximum External Fillet: 50.000 inches or 4.166 feet or 1270.000 millimeters or 1.270 meters
Maximum Internal Fillet: 49.999 inches or 4.166 feet or 1269.975 millimeters or 1.269 meters
Minimum External or Internal Fillet: 0 - a sharp corner
Maximum Quantity: 10,000
| Top |
Some of the limits (maximum length or maximum quantity, for example) are designed to keep things manageable. An item that weighs 50,000 pounds is fine, but displaying the total weight of two million of them wouldn't be.
In some cases it's possible to "fool" the program.
For example, if the length limit of 300 inches (25 feet) is inadequate for a specific calculation - say, 5000 feet of wire - a workaround would be to enter the wire diameter, then select FEET input mode and enter 25 for the LENGTH. Input the expression 5000/25 into the QUANTITY box, and the correct TOTAL WEIGHT will be displayed. This method should work equally well with most of the other shapes.
ME Weights has the ability to keep a running total of the weight and volume of a group of shapes, which I’ll refer to from here on as an assembly. The individual items in an assembly can come from any combination of shapes and materials supported by the program, with an upper limit of fifty distinct items (up to 10,000 of each item).
One application of the assembly feature might be to calculate the shipping weight of a lot of mixed lumber or steel pieces. Another use might be in the area of machine or fixture design, where weight is often an important factor.
The assembly tracker can be hidden or displayed, without losing any active assembly data, by clicking the check box located just above the program title frame.
The basic idea is to define a shape in the standard way, then add it to the assembly. There are three rows of buttons at the bottom of the assembly tracker which are used to execute the tracker functions.
| Top |
To add the currently defined shape, click the ITEM+ button. The item will appear in the combo box at the top of the tracker, with an identifying index number. Individual and cumulative calculations will be displayed.
If the active shape is not properly or fully defined, an error dialog will appear.
If you’ve added an item to the assembly and decide to remove it, select that item in the combo box at the top, then click the ITEM- button. The item will be removed, index numbers will resequence, and assembly calculations will update.
To change the quantity of an item in the assembly, select the desired item in the combo box, then click the QTY- or QTY+ button. The item quantity will go down or up by one, and all calculations will update.
| Top |
To evaluate the impact of removing an item, select it in the combo box and click the ZERO button. The weight and volume values for the item will be subtracted from the totals. To restore the item, click the ZERO button again.
To define an item as a cavity, select it in the combo box and click the CAVITY button. Twice the weight and volume values for the item will be subtracted from the totals. To redefine it as a solid, click the adjacent SOLID button. Cavity values show in red text as a visual reminder.
As long as there's at least one item in the assembly, you can open an assembly summary window by clicking the VIEW button. This read-only window can be left open and will update as you modify the assembly. I like to park it at the top of the screen, with the main window dragged to the bottom. Of course, the benefit of leaving this window open while you work will be strongly influenced by your screen configuration.
| Top |
To view or print a report, click the PRINT button. The report will display exactly as it will be printed, on letter size paper and in landscape mode. In addition to printing, you can save the report in one of two ways - as a .ddc file for later viewing with the included ddoc.exe program, or as a self-contained executable which will display on any Windows computer.
To save the assembly data as a .txt or .csv file, click the SAVE button. A .csv file can be easily imported into many data manipulation programs.
To completely clear the assembly data, click the CLEAR button. You'll be asked to confirm this operation. There's no undo feature, so be careful.
ME Weights 3.0 was developed using the IBasic Pro compiler (www.pyxia.com). The executable was compressed using upx http://(upx.sf.net). The ddoc preview/print engine was created by Don Dickinson (dickinson.basicguru.com).
| Top |
The demo version of ME Weights 3.0 is fully functional, except that only the first two materials in each category are available and the User-Defined material density feature is disabled.
The price for a licensed copy is $15.00. You can register by clicking on the PayPal button at the bottom of this page and submitting your payment information. After PayPal sends me your name and email address, I'll send you a download link for your personalized copy.
Registered users are entitled to all future updates.
I’ll be happy to help with any questions or problems you might have related to ME Weights, and am always interested in hearing about features you’d like to see changed or added. My name is Michael Rainey, and I can be contacted at rainey47@bellsouth.net