Cost Software - Questions & Bug Reports

[Bill Riley]

Please use this discussion for questions and bug reports on the software. Please put rules and table questions in the discussion entitled "Cost Rules - Discussion of New 2009 Rules"

[AWilson]

Hi Mr Riley

I also get the error message ''The following error has occurred: 6'' however I get this message when I follow the software update guide and enter 'FixID()' in the run command box. Is there something I can try to rectify this or if I ignore this error message do I run the risk loosing data later on?

Regards

Alister

[Formula North]

Hello Mr. Riley

I have a couple of questions regarding the cost application. We are currently signing up for FSAE Michigan:

1. My cost software application does not allow me to switch to the Brake section. This section does not appear in the "Jump to" directory and the left side button does not work as well.

2. After entering a value in "Assembly Materials", I get the error 2431.

3. If I use the material "Steel, Alloy", "Aluminum, Normal" etc, the material cost doesn't update when I either change the quantity, or update the "Size 1" or fill the Area, Length or density. I am using the same method we used for our cost report last year for materials and processes.

4. Must we use the cost application software this year? Can I use the excel tables instead? I am a bit paranoid as my application has crashed a couple of times, and I do not want to run into any problems while approaching the due date.

5. This may be a stupid question: But is there a Save button or does the application save automtically? How do you know when it saves?

[R.Trickett]

Hey Mike, Ryan from UW here. Kudos for attempting to use the software. I tried that back in November and wanted to shoot myself. No way was i going to trust it. We're relying on the excel system we developed last year that worked quite well. Starting earlier and aggressively cutting costs.

BTW, nice job get started on this early. I remember talking to the women that you had working on it last year at the PACCAR open house and she was pretty frustrated with everything.

Good luck at MIS (and with the software)!

[Bill Riley]

Thank you for the feedback. I have forwarded these to the programmer.

If you haven't please email your database to fsae.cost@gmail.com.

Bill Riley

[Tony Lee]

This was answered by Bill in the larger cost report thread, but basically...

in the folder
<install directory> \FCA\

there is an invisibile file "fcakey" (no extension)

open this file in notepad or wordpad

inside the file, you should see

##-xxxxxx

## is your team number
xxxxxx is where your authentication number should be, if it isn't type it in and save.
now try and sync with the server.

[D Collins Jr]

Is there any way to add records to the Sections Table? Or am I limited to what is there for now?

Also, does anyone else's "help" feature work? I'm very lost and confused when trying to get through the format of how to update and include items right now.

[hicks_bw]

Mr. Riley,

I have discovered another error, one that is quite detrimental to the ability of our team to complete this report by the stated deadline.

Last night during one of the syncs with the sever for data sharing, a large majority of our cost report magically disappeared. Prior to the sync all of our data was in the proper places, and now it is gone. Given that we must have the report in the mail by tomorrow, it seems hardly fair that we must re-complete this daunting task in under 24 hours.

Normally, I would say that we should have been better prepared, and had the cost report done sooner, but in this case it was done, and then the software provided by SAE caused us to loose all of our data.

Punishing teams for not having a cost report in on time because of faulty software is not in the spirit of the competition, and definitely does not reflect the enthusiasm, time, effort, and innovation that we have all put in this year.

[Matthias Raab]

Thanks, Tony. Sync works, after I changed working place from office to home (no university-firewall blocking the stuff).

But the software seems to have MANY bugs.It is not possible, to work with it. From pop-up-windows, when I click the "pencil"-button or into the "material"-, "Process"- or "Fastener"-field over no explanations for all the "units" and "sizes" to discrepancies between the newest materials tabel and the materials table in the software (example: machining for all the lathe- and mill-work is combined to "machining" in the latest version 18 of the process table, but is still spread out in detail in the software.

I decided not to use the software for the Silverstone event. Simply because it CAN'T be used. I'll have to go with plain excel-tables.

We appreciate the efforts of FSAE to help us with the cost report by providing a software tool. We really do. But so far, it caused more stress, problems and mainly delay, than it benefits.

Maybe I'm just a dumb user....I don'tknow. I give up.

Matthias Raab
UaS Wiesbaden,Germany

[SapienzaCorse]

I'm sorry i know this in not the right place but...

We don't find our team in the database...
We followed instructions about this problem.
They said us to update fsae software with "GetAdminTables()" and we found the following problem:
We aren't in the list.
How to do for registering ourselfs?? Where?
Who to ask??

Thankyou. Sc fsae team.