
This program, ME Weights 2.1, is a weight calculator for different
sizes and shapes of metal, wood, plastic, and a variety of other
common materials used in industry.  It contains a substantial database
of material densities, and also has provisions for making calculations
based on user-defined material densities.


ME Weights would be useful for persons involved in the manufacture,
purchase, transport, or storage of material of the supported shapes,
or of products made from them.  The program is freeware and my
permission is given for anybody to use it for any ethical purpose.


The program has been tested in all versions of Windows except Windows
95.  To install, simply copy MEWeights21.exe to the directory of your
choice and run.  It doesn't modify your system or registry in any way.



The program can calculate the volume and weight of the following stock
shapes:

hexagonal, octagonal, rectangular, square, and round solid bar
round, square, and rectangular tubing
spheres, hollow spheres, pyramids, cones, cone frusta (truncated
cones), and spherical caps

Rectangular and square solid stock can be defined with external corner
radii.
Rectangular and square tubing can be defined with internal and/or
external corner radii.



Given the material type, dimensional data and unit quantity, the
program will calculate unit volume, unit weight, and total weight. 
Dimensional data may be input as inches, feet, millimeters, or meters. 
Outputs are displayed in U.S. or metric formats.


Using ME Weights is quite simple. First, select an input mode in the
UNITS SELECTOR frame at the bottom - choose from INCHES, FEET,
MILLIMETERS, or METERS.  You can input all dimensions using the same
mode, or switch around at will as you dimension a shape.  As an
example, if you had 30MM diameter round stock that was ten feet long,
you could input the diameter in MILLIMETERS mode , then switch to FEET
for the length.  This feature allows you to input data without ever
having to make a manual unit conversion calculation.


Next, choose a material category by clicking on the appropriate option
button at the top (METAL, WOOD, PLASTIC, OTHER, or USER-DEFINED) 
Select a specific member of the chosen category 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 selected) or grams per cubic centimeter
(MILLIMETERS or METERS mode selected).  If the USER-DEFINED option is
chosen because the required material density is not otherwise
available, 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
it is ready to accept data.  Input the density in the appropriate
units.  The value will remain active until changed by you or until a
pre-defined material category is selected.


Now select a material shape from one of the groups at the left.
Depending on the shape selected, there will be from one to six
dimensions required before a volume and weight calculation can be
made.  After a shape is selected, appropriate labels will appear above
the input boxes that will be required for that shape. The upper left
label will be black and the input button will turn green as a signal
that the corresponding input box is ready to accept data.  If an input
box has a visible label but is "grayed out", and the input button is
red, it is not yet ready to accept input. If an input box has no
visible label above it, that box will be "grayed out" and is not
needed for the selected material shape.


Data is entered by typing in a value and then clicking on the
corresponding input button or pressing the Enter key. You may enter
either an actual number (e.g. 1.500) or an expression 1+1/2 or 1+(1/2)
or 1 1/2.  These will all give the same result.  There can only be one
space in an expression or an error will occur.  Note that FEET mode is
NOT feet and inches - to input 1 foot 6 inches while in FEET mode, you
would enter 1+6/12 or 1 6/12 or 1+(6/12).


If you input a number that exceeds the maximum or minimum program
limits (see below) or is geometrically impossible because of other
data you've already entered, the program will adjust your entry as
closely as possible.  For example, if you have circular tubing and
input an outside diameter of six inches, you cannot input a bore
diameter of more than 5.998 or a wall thickness of more than 2.999 or
less than .001 - otherwise you would no longer have circular tubing. 
Likewise, negative numbers or expressions that calculate to negative
numbers are not allowed - they are adjusted upward to meet the minimum
requirements of the material shape.  If you enter an expression and
the characters turn red, that normally means that the program does not
understand your input.  Check for such things as unmatched parentheses
or other errors.


The square and rectangular materials, both solid and tubing, have the
capability of being evaluated with external and/or internal fillets
(rounded corners).  These values are initialized to zero, so you don't
have to do anything if your material has sharp corners.  If the value
you input here changes when it displays, you may have entered a fillet
that is geometrically impossible when evaluated in combination with
your other inputs - for example, a particular combination of outside
dimension, wall thickness, and internal fillet.


Once you have input all required dimensional information, the volume
and weight data will be calculated and displayed.  At this point, you
can change the input values, quantity, and input mode at will to
evaluate the effect on the volume and weight.  Changing the material
type will cause a recalculation and redisplay of volume and weight.
Changing the material shape clears all boxes - you start from scratch.


Outputs when 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).


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 will allow you to 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 will allow you
to input the weight and calculate the volume.



BUILT-IN ABSOLUTE LIMITS:

Maximum Length - 300 inches or 7620 millimeters
Minimum Length - .001 inches or .0254 millimeters

Maximum Outside Diameter - 100 inches or 2540 millimeters
Minimum Outside Diameter - .001 inches or .0254 millimeters

Maximum Inside Diameter (Bore) - 99.998 inches or 2539.949 millimeters
Minimum Inside Diameter (Bore) - .001 inches or .0254 millimeters

Maximum Thickness/Width/Height - 100 inches or 2540 millimeters
Minimum Thickness/Width/Height - .001 inches or .0254 millimeters

Maximum Wall - 49.999 inches or 1269.975 millimeters
Minimum Wall - .001 inches or .0254 millimeters

Maximum External Fillet - 50.000 inches or 1270.000 millimeters
Minimum External Fillet - 0

Maximum Internal Fillet - 49.999 inches or 1269.975 millimeters
Minimum External/Internal Fillet - 0

Maximum Quantity - 10,000


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 select FEET input mode and enter 25.  Input the expression 5000/25
into the QUANTITY box, and the correct TOTAL WEIGHT will be displayed.



I hope this program proves to be useful to you. If you discover any
program errors, or have any problems, questions, suggestions, etc., I
encourage you to write me.


 Mike Rainey
 rainey47@bellsouth.net



For those who are interested, this program was created with IBasic
(www.pyxia.com). It's a wonderful and very inexpensive program for
writing standalone Windows executables. Developer support is
outstanding, and the IBasic user community is very friendly and
helpful.


