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Predator Software drops Windows 2000 Support

Predator SoftwareNo Windows 2000 Support from Predator Software

Predator Software has been supporting Microsoft’s Windows 2000 since it was released to manufacturing back on December 1999. Unfortunately, after almost 12 years, Predator will no longer be able to provide day-to-day support for their applications on this platform as of August 2012.

However, support is ongoing to upgrade Predator applications from an existing Windows 2000 installation to a newer edition of Microsoft Windows. Please call (877) 611-5825 for more information.

More about Shop Floor Automations and Predator Software:

Founded back in 1998, Shop Floor Automations, Inc. (SFA) started as a small company focused on distributing the Predator Software product line to the San Diego and Los Angeles markets of California.  Within 6 months, the company expanded to cover the entire West Coast as a reseller with the goal to be the #1 reseller in a year.

The goal was met in 1999 when SFA was awarded the status of largest distributor of Predator Software in North America. SFA has been ranked #1 in Predator Software Sales, Service and Support for many consecutive years.

SFA has become the industry leader in Shop Floor Communications and Machine Monitoring Solutions. Totally redefining what “Shop Floor Automation” solutions should be.  With thousands of customers from across the United States, Mexico, Canada, Europe and Asia, SFA was called upon by other vendors to provide other solutions that could be met by our knowledge, support and sales experience of the manufacturing industry.  In 2010, SFA aligned itself with these vendors to close the loop with maintenance management software, job management and scheduling software, hardware manufacturers, and machine tool companies.

SFA is located in San Diego County, situated in the bustling suburb of La Mesa, California, about 10 miles East of San Diego, ever since our founding year.  We expanded our support offices throughout the USA over the years to meet customer demands.

We are focused on the sales, service and support of the Predator Software MES Suite. The Suite consists of Predator DNC (shop floor networking and communications), Predator MDC (Manufacturing Data Collection and machine monitoring), Predator DNC Enterprise (shop floor control), Predator Product Data Management (CNC and data management), Predator Travelers (electronic work instructions), Predator Tracker (tool crib and gage crib organization and tracking), Predator Virtual CNC (NC verification and simulation), and Predator CNC Editor (NC editing). The Predator MES Suite provides manufacturers and machine shops with answers to real-world shop floor automation problems. SFA combines an experienced and dedicated staff with internal systems for development, testing, and support of all Predator Software applications. We are committed to investing in the resources it takes to remain the recognized industry leader in shop floor automation technologies.

Many of our clients know us as the DNC Communications and Data Collection / Machine Monitoring experts and we look forward to helping your company in these areas and with our new product solutions.

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Predator PDM Version 10 Release

pdm

Predator PDM Version 10 Release

La Mesa, CA – April 4, 2012 –Shop Floor Automations (SFA) has announced the release of the newest version of its shop floor PDM solution, Predator PDM version 10.
Version 10 of Predator PDM offers the most extensive expansion of features of any version yet, according to the company. Features include: direct integration with Predator DNC systems, including systems utilizing Remote Request; improved integration with Predator MDC (Manufacturing Data Collection) systems; expanded workflow, approval control and history options; new and improved bar code and RFID integration options and unlimited flexibility in definition and naming of PDM vault elements.
“All previous PDM systems have been designed and built with CAD & CAM files and design departments in mind and as such, have rarely been a good fit for controlling access to files on the shop floor,” said a company spokesperson. “Predator PDM is designed to be much more flexible than traditional PDM systems while still retaining the ability to provide absolute control over what files are being used on the floor and capturing a history of those files’ use as well.
“Our basic PDM systems can be utilized to simply control and track access to NC files, but they can easily be expanded to include almost any type of file used on the shop floor, including drawings, tool lists, setup sheets, videos, manuals, etc. While designed to be as simple as possible to implement and use, Predator PDM still has the power to be the single solution for file access control, file viewing, file use history, quality and manufacturing status history, initiation of DNC file transfers (when combined with our DNC software solution) and updating of machine status (both to our data collection solutions, as well as existing data collection systems).”

For more information: fill out a contact form here 

Tel: 619-461-4000, fax: 619-461-5918, toll free: 877-611-5825.

 

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CNC Editors

CNC backplotter32-bit  G-code editor with CNC Backplotter

Tired of manually editing G-code on your CNC? The Predator CNC Editor is the most popular 32-bit CNC code editor on the market.

This software includes hundreds of features to improve the day-to-day productivity of CNC machine tools, yet it is extremely easy to use. Four editions are available, including a free version.

Features include:
• CNC Editing
• Unlimited File Size
• File Compare
• CNC Communications with drip-feed
• Backplotting

Additional information on our free CNC Editor download

From our CNC Editor Landing page:

SFA provides customized CNC Editor Solutions for everyone, from small job shops to the largest manufacturers. Dozens of CNC intelligent editing commands make changes to your CNC program quickly & easily. Edit confidently with the ability to undo & redo all changes. Microsoft Word-compatible menus, toolbar, & shortcut keys make these systems easy to learn.

In addition, editing multiple CNC programs at the same time is supported, with the ability to cut, copy, & paste between them. Program includes a side-by-side file compare that identifies all G-code & M-code differences, then fixes them with a single click. Our editing & backplotter packages are developed under the most rigorous testing.

These extremely versatile but easy-to-use packages are designed to simplify your work & will also improve productivity.

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Predator DNC Version 9.0 Released

Predator DNC SoftwarePredator DNC Software Version 9.0

With the new operating system released by Microsoft, Predator has responded and released Predator DNC Version 9.0 through the Predator MES Suite v9.0. Shop Floor Automations (SFA), the largest distributor and service center for Predator Software today announced implementing the new release and training on the product.

Whether using a wireless or wired network, RS232 or Ethernet, DNC can be configured to remotely upload, download and drip-feed from a single CNC Control Panel to as many as 256 CNCs, whether they are across the shop floor or across the globe. And now Predator DNC is even better with version 9.0.

In addition to Windows Vista, version 9.0 also supports Microsofts other 64-bit systems XP Professional x64 Edition, and Windows 2003 Server x64 – along with Microsoft Excel 2007, Access 2007 and Oracle Database 11g.

Predator DNC v9.0 also offers new Fanuc Focus connection to machines for transferring NC programs via Ethernet for uploading, downloading and drip-feeding. Plus it comes with the newly released Predator CNC Editor v9.0, which contains dozens of new features, such as several new CNC programming wizards and all new backplotting with support for Predator Dynamic Graphics.

More about DNC Communications solutions through Shop Floor Automations:

Manage your CNC programs, machine parameters, & offsets. Enjoy a wide range of CNC communication options from your Predator PCs for drip-feeding, downloading, & bi-directional communication. Upload via parallel, RS232, RS422 Ethernet, & wireless Ethernet for thousands of CNC machines. With Microsoft Office  & Windows Explorer-compatible user interface (Windows 10 O/S supported), use familiar features for drag & drop, cut, copy, paste, shortcut menus, object-based menus, toolbars, tool tips, & available online help.

Improve CNC revision control while using existing ERP & MES bar-coded paperwork. Eliminate time wasted walking back & forth between your CNC & PC with a Remote Request function. Consider a 32-Bit, Multi-thread, Multi-tasking, Open-Architecture DNC Software solution that works wired & wirelessly.

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Automate and Streamline Moldmaking with DNC Software

DNC SoftwareDNC Software  for Moldmaking Automation

Shop Floor Automations (La Mesa, CA), the leading reseller and support provider for Predator Software, offers the perfect solution to automate and streamline the moldmaking process.

Predator DNC Software is designed to allow moldmaking applications to communicate with up to 256 CNCs simultaneously from a single PC. Predator DNC works in the background, even while other applications are running, to drip-feed large programs typically used by mold makers. Predator also includes a Server Safe Mode to protect against lost data in the event of a network crash during drip feed transfers. The software also supports various baud rates up to 256,000bps to allow for fast through-put to the machine to eliminate starving the control, which is common when running at lower baud rates.

The most used feature in the software is the DNC restart functionality to allow for the operator to restart mid-tape should a tool break in the middle of the program. The user can also specify a string of text that is then inserted at the beginning of the CNC program that is sent.

Predator DNC comes standard with protocols for error-free communication to packetize the data as the NC programs are being requested from the CNC controller. These protocols include Bridgeport Easylink, Brother Dialog, Fagor, Heidenhain Blockwise, Okuma B, and Xmodem at no additional cost.

This article was featured in Mold Making Technology. Read it here.

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Shop of the Future

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.

Predator CNC Editor v6.1 Released

CNC Editor Gcode EditorPredator CNC Editor v6.1 Released

Predator CNC Editor  v6.1 has been Released and is ready for use on manufacturing shop floor. If you would like more information on how Predator Editor and other CNC Editors can benefit you, read more below:

SFA provides customized CNC Editor Solutions for everyone, from small job shops to the largest manufacturers, with hundreds of features to improve day-to-day CNC machine tool productivity. Dozens of CNC intelligent editing commands make changes to your CNC program quickly & easily. Edit confidently with the ability to undo & redo all changes. Microsoft Word-compatible menus, toolbar, & shortcut keys make these systems easy to learn with basic CNC communications. Also, Windows 10 O/S is supported!

In addition, editing multiple CNC programs of unlimited file sizes at the same time, even while other applications run in the background, is supported. Cut, copy, & paste between them. Program includes a side-by-side file compare that identifies all G-code & M-code differences, then fixes them with a single click.

These extremely versatile but easy-to-use packages are designed to simplify your work & will also improve productivity. Our editing & backplotter packages are developed under rigorous testing.

Founded back in 1998, Shop Floor Automations, Inc. (SFA) started as a small company focused on distributing the Predator Software product line to the San Diego and Los Angeles markets of California.  Within 6 months, the company expanded to cover the entire West Coast as a reseller with the goal to be the #1 reseller in a year.

The goal was met in 1999 when SFA was awarded the status of largest distributor of Predator Software in North America. SFA has been ranked #1 in Predator Software Sales, Service and Support for decades.

 

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Predator DNC 4.0 Released

Predator DNC Software 4.0 released

Predator DNC 4.0 has been released for manufacturing shop floors. For more information on Predator DNC and other DNC options from Shop Floor Automations, read below:

Manage your CNC programs, machine parameters, & offsets. Enjoy a wide range of CNC communication options from your Predator PCs for drip-feeding, downloading, & bi-directional communication. Upload via parallel, RS232, RS422 Ethernet, & wireless Ethernet for thousands of CNC machines. With Microsoft Office  & Windows Explorer-compatible user interface (Windows 10 O/S supported), use familiar features for drag & drop, cut, copy, paste, shortcut menus, object-based menus, toolbars, tool tips, & available online help.

Improve CNC revision control while using existing ERP & MES bar-coded paperwork. Eliminate time wasted walking back & forth between your CNC & PC with a Remote Request function. Consider a 32-Bit, Multi-thread, Multi-tasking, Open-Architecture DNC Software solution that works wired & wirelessly.

Simplify operations with one network for all of your CNC machines, Robots, PLCs, & part makers, grouped by building or cell.

With Predator DNC, you can network all of your CNCs, Robots, and PLC- based machines. Predator DNC manages your CNC programs, offsets, and parameters. It supports a broad range of CNC communications for drip-feeding, downloading, and uploading via parallel, RS232, RS422 Ethernet, and wireless Ethernet.

When you need to manage your robots, CNC machines, part markers, and PLCs, you need Predator DNC. Not only will it manage your programs, but also your parameters and offsets. It supports everything you could possibly need when it comes to CNC communications, whether you’re uploading, downloading or drip-feeding via wireless, Ethernet, RS232, RS422, or parallel. Call SFA for more info at (877) 611-5825!

Predator CNC Editor V6.0 Released

CNC Editor Gcode EditorPredator CNC Editor v 6.0 released

SFA announces that Predator CNC Editor V6.0 has been released. For more info on how this software can help your shop floor, read below:

Dozens of CNC intelligent editing commands make changes to your CNC program quickly and easily. Edit confidently with the ability to undo and redo all changes. Microsoft Word compatible menus, toolbar, and shortcut keys make Predator CNC Editor easy to learn.

The Predator CNC Editor supports up to 64MBs of code per CNC program. In addition, editing multiple CNC programs at the same time is supported, with the ability to cut, copy, and paste between them.

The Predator CNC Editor includes a side-by-side file compare, which identifies each G-code and M-code difference and fixes them with a single click of the mouse. A summary report and numerous options to ignore spaces, blank lines, leader/trailer, feed rates, spindle speeds, and tool changes simplify the process of integrating shop floor edits with a master CNC program.

Send, receive, and drip-feed to one machine at a time, via switchbox or direct connection to any compatible CNC machine. Works in the background even while other software applications are running. Should a tool break, an easy to use DNC Restart command automatically re-creates the CNC program from any point.
NOTE: An upgrade to our full Predator DNC product provides support for DNC networking of multiple CNC machines at the same time.

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Another Success Story

Stryker Reduces Errors with Predator Desktop

A Nice, Tidy Operation – Predator Software case study

Predator SoftwareNowadays, joint replacements are expected to meet greater demands and be in service longer than ever before. This means ever-increasing demand on design and production, ensuring maximum joint mobility; whilst minimizing wear, through the use of materials such as ceramics, titanium, and polyethylene.

Also, to meet the ever-widening range of issues, preferences, and patient demands, surgeons must have an equally wide range of choices and options so that the right joint is readily available whatever size the patient.

All this puts pressure on companies like Stryker Corporation, which specializes in manufacturing medical equipment. It has to deal with numerous design variations and batch changeovers daily, whilst maintaining traceability and effective production within the bounds of strict regulation.

Not easy by anyone’s standards; there are many opportunities for operator error, especially when changing one batch of components for another – which may look exactly the same, but embrace dimensional changes too small for most to see. Such errors prompted senior information technology analyst Walter Switzer of Stryker’s facility in Cork to seek a solution.

He found it in a bespoke DNC installation developed in conjunction with Predator Software Europe. The first two parts of the proposed three-part installation have been a huge success: the possibility of downloading the wrong file has been obliterated, and productivity significantly improved. In fact, the system now manages everything associated with making products on the machines and is currently being implemented across the American plants as a result. Read more below.

Read more