Shop of the Future Article

Using Shop Floor Automation’s software, manufacturers are now able to increase the efficiency and precision of their machines. These advancements in software technology have allowed manufacturers to reduce the amount of manpower as well as errors in their manufacturing processes, truly making them the shop of the future.

Joe Morales, director of manufacturing of Implant Direct states in the article:

“We chose Shop Floor Automation’s Predator DNC software,” he says. “All our machines have plenty of built-in memory, so we don’t use the drip-feed feature of the software, but we use most of its other features. All our machines are linked to their own computers, which, in turn, are linked to a server with Predator software. That way, our guys can read their travelers, input the program they need and Predator will deliver it to their workstation.”

“One thing we really like about the Predator software is its editor,” he says. “With as many parts and programs as we have, document control is extremely important. In the past, if an operator made changes to the G-code, the change could slip through a crack. But Predator prevents that. As soon as a program is no longer needed on the floor, it goes back to the programmer via Predator Software. The programmer uses the Predator editor to compare the returned program with the original. The software instantly flags changes so the programmer can check it out.”

Another useful feature, according to Morales, is the software’s “mass” editor. “The mass editing capability lets you call up multiple programs all at once and make changes to them,” he says. “This saves a tremendous amount of time. For instance, let’s say we wanted to alter speeds, feed rates or G-code. With Predator we can make one change and the software will change the entire family of parts all at once. It’s one of the key links in our manufacturing chain that helps us run this factory on the cutting edge of technology.”

Read the full article here.