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Using Software to Support Your Automation Agenda

MoldMaking Technology magazine

We had an extensive article posted in MoldMaking Technology magazine. Learn how to increase the productivity of your shop. Check out the article.

A shop floor focuses on several aspects of automation when working with CNC machines, and software is one tool that can help manage the automation process. When investing in software, consider the entire problem you are attempting to solve.

A key factor in your software purchase should be integration. Many software vendors provide only one piece of a software solution, which makes it difficult to integrate with other software programs being used by the shop. By being able to purchase only what you need or what you are ready to integrate from a single provider, you gain tools that work together as a seamless package.

Scheduling also plays a critical role in optimizing automation. Job scheduling software should deliver and communicate in real time the orders that need to be manufactured, as well as track labor, material, and delays. Whiteboards and spreadsheets do not provide real-time data, so look for a solution that utilizes what-if scenarios, is designed for ease of use and receives buy-in from the operators using the product. Read more below.

Read more

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SFA in February 2014 Manufacturing News

February 2014 Manufacturing News

Read our article about DNC in this month’s Manufacturing News issue, “SFA + Predator DNC Software For Windows”

Shop Floor Automations NewsletterShop Floor Automations (SFA), a provider of software for the manufacturing shop floor, installed Predator’s version 9.0.16 through the end of 2013 while beta testing version 10.0 of Predator DNC Software and Editor.

Version 9.0 has been installed at hundreds of different sites. The main benefit is its compatibility with Windows 7 and Windows 2008/2012 server, including both 32- and 64-bit Operating systems.

“The DNC is easily migrated from previous versions running under Windows XP to the latest Predator DNC with our migration tools and hardware program,” said SFA President Greg Mercurio. “Customers have used the same solution for years from us and if it works, they do not want to change anything unless needed. Because of the end to Microsoft’s support for Windows XP, we have created a program to assist customers in keeping their machines up and running without interrupting production.”

SFA can provide end users with new hardware to integrate their existing wired system into wireless 802.11 B/G or embrace Ethernet technology on the shop floor. The use of RS232 serial ports is being phased out and networking CNC machines is becoming more prevalent. Predator Software includes functionality to communicate via FTP or Windows Share, and supports the use of the FANUC FOCAS to simplify file transfers. RS232 standard protocol is also included to support the hundreds of legacy CNC controllers with enhanced file management tools to automate the download and upload process.

Read the whole piece here! You may also call SFA and ask us about more Predator Software solutions at (877) 611-5825.

The different Predator solutions we are offer: DNC. Touch HMI, EditLock, MDC, CNC Editor, CNC Editor Express, CNC Editor Light, PDM, and Tracker. We have been the number one reseller of Predator Software since 1999 and continue to customize this solution to fit customer needs. Ask about demos and free trials!

 

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Manufacturing Engineering – Real-Time Manufacturing Data – November 2013

Greg Mercurio in Manufacturing Engineering

President of SFA, Greg Mercurio, is featured in the Manufacturing Engineering November 2013 issue. In the interview, he talks about real-time data and machine monitoring for the shop floor.

“One of the challenges we face every day is trying to educate the manufacturing industry on how critical this data is,” Greg is quoted. “It’s at our fingertips and it’s not being utilized because a lot of manufacturers think it’s too complicated or it’s cost-prohibitive.” 

“Technologies including wireless, bar code readers, touch screens, and tablets have started to drive implementation prices down,” Greg says. “The reality is most shops run only at about 60 percent to 65 percent machine utilization.”

Read the entire piece! Call 877-611-5825 – we invite you to be surprised just how affordable and easy these solutions are!

More about data monitoring (AKA machine data collection and machine monitoring):

Improve manufacturing by supplying accurate shop floor productivity metrics to improve operations & make better decisions. Enjoy automatic, error-free, & unattended machine monitoring for events such as job start/end, setup start/end, log on/off, cycle start/end, & more. Data collected includes cycle time, idle time, setup time, teardown time, machine downtime, & scrap reasons.

Drive improvements based on real-time data. In today’s competitive manufacturing environment, it is more important than ever to be as efficient as possible. Increase machine up-time & drive innovation on your shop floor. What is the overall equipment effectiveness formula? Ask us!

 

 

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Production Machining – August 2013

Production Machining – August 2013

Check out the latest Shop Floor Automations ad in Production Machining’s August 2013 issue! Our mobile solutions are featured in it. Check out the ad

More about Shop Floor Automations:

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 the largest distributor of Predator Software in North America. SFA has been ranked #1 in Predator Software Sales, Service and Support for the past 15 years running.

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.

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Modern Machine Shop March 2013

Shop Floor Automations in Modern Machine Shop

See our latest Shop Floor Automations ad on eXtremeDNC in Modern Machine Shop featuring our own Tech, Joshua.

More info on SFA’s DNC Communication options:

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.

Predator DNC Software

  •  Network all CNCs, EDMs, PLCs, & Robots with singular DNC package
  • Eliminates walking time to & from CNC control & PC
  • Major CNC protocols, including Mazatrol (CMT), Okuma B & Xmodem, supported
  • Send, receive or drip-feed to up to 4,096 devices
  • Highly flexible interface options include wireless, wired, Ethernet, & USB

Ascendant eXtremeDNC Software

  • Simultaneously push/pull files to CNCs from PC/Remotely
  • Reliable RS232 communication via Wireless & Wired
  • Support for all major CNC protocols including Mazatrol, OkumaB, & more
  • Self-Install & SFA install (Remote or Onsite) available
  • Support for Windows XP, Vista, 7, Server 2003/2008R2 – 32bit & 64 bit systems
  • Originally written for Windows NT 3.5 (“C” Language) for future compatibility

Call (877) 611-5825 for more info!

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Predator PDM v10.0.191 is released

pdmPredator PDM Enterprise has enhanced the shop floor dialogs with New Machine Events and Tracker style Check-In and Check-Out dialogs. In addition, the following improvements have been made:

January 17th 2013 – Predator PDM v10.0.191 is released

  • Added -UNRELEASED to change manufacturing and quality status workflow
  • Improved online help
  • Improved -viewvaultitem command line to support wildcards
  • Improved -viewvaultitemdialog command line to support wildcards
  • Improved machine wizards
  • Improved the Oracle database login screen
  • Improved displaying the database name and host within the status bar
  • Improved check-out warning message
  • Improved display of LF only style CNC files within the shop floor windows
  • Fixed a bug with editing a list item
Customers on software maintenance can download v10.0.191 of Predator PDM from our downloads at any time. Customers running v9 or older of Predator PDM should contact Shop Floor Automations for upgrade details and pricing. Read more below.

Read more

Scytec DataXchange IconScytec
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Scytec DataXchange Silver Released

DataXchangeScytec DataXchange Silver Released

Collect user defined Planned and Unplanned Downtimes with bar code scanners. More Details

More about machine monitoring through Scytec:

  • Choose from On-Premise or Cloud Based
  • As low as $45 monthly per machine for Cloud option
  • Real-time data collection from any age CNC controls & equipment
  • Unlimited reporting, charting licenses & users
  • View & report on data results from anywhere
  • Track multiple cycle time types

OEE and IIoT reports and charts from Scytec DataXchange help improve machine utilization and minimize downtime.  “Collecting data from the machines is one thing, but utilizing the data for actionable results is critical in order to convert manufacturing data into manufacturing intelligence,” Scytec proclaims to customers.

Timelines, equipment status summaries, OEE summaries, trends, downtime Pareto, scrap Pareto, histograms, plots, comparisons, and more can be charted. These charts can be displayed in the real-time dashboard of the program, which includes being able to saving group or personalized chart templates and ability to export this data to CSV or Excel.

“DataXchange is a Cloud and On-Premise manufacturing machine monitoring system,” Scytec says of their services. With over 15 years of experience in manufacturing, they were able to create this program from scratch. “Increasing utilization by roughly 30 minutes per machine will cover the cost of the software. How about the gains of knowing when machines are running at a lower feedrate, a program stop, or sitting in feed hold?  The software typically pays for itself within the first few days of each month.”

Call (877) 611-5825 for more information!

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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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CASH For Clunkers

An old blue car, also known as a "clunker" due to its age, being serviced.Discount to Replace Old Systems

Do you have an outdated, unsupported DNC System from a software company who has been out of business or not updated their product since Window NT or 2000? Now is the time to consider a software upgrade with our trade-up program.

New technology with a good support system is how to stay ahead in this industry. Don’t let your shop floor fall behind. We can help!

For orders placed in 2011, we will provide up to 25% of credit towards the purchase of a new system from Shop Floor Automations.

Give us a call now (877) 611-5825 Toll Free!
• Upgrade from switchboxes
• Support for Windows 7, Vista, Server 2008• Wireless or Wired System
• Simple upgrade path

More about Shop Floor Automations:

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.

The founders of SFA have many years of experience providing effective solutions to manufacturers large and small from coast to coast. Their expertise in designing and implementing DNC and Shop Floor Networks allows them to take the best hardware and software products to the next level. That level is a fully implemented, turnkey solution tailored specifically for a customer’s requirements and environments.

Shop Floor Automations is appropriately positioned to provide our customers with a complete technology environment. Customers are not looking for products so much as they are seeking solutions to their business problems. Our total solution approach for manufacturing customers provides hardware and software packages, installation and support services, and expert consultation where required. Our principal goal is to help customers save time and make money.

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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.