jobpackJobpack Production Scheduling

Scheduling is the key to efficient operations. With Jobpack Production Scheduling software, you can quickly identify bottlenecks and react in real-time to unexpected production problems.

You’ll know what job to run next, when to promise the customer’s order, and what machines can get it done the fastest.  You can optimize production capabilities while achieving realistic delivery dates to keep customer satisfaction humming right along.

Job Scheduling Software is essential for knowing if deliveries will be on time. It takes all of your current jobs, along with capacity, & gives you the ability to see where your jobs are & when they are going to be completed. The real-time scheduling module keeps operators on the shop floor up to date with what jobs to run next. Sudden downtime on machines is accounted for & re-scheduling based on new machine capacity can happen.

With a solid scheduling system in place, you’ll be better equipped to update your customers on delivery dates and identify late deliveries before they happen so you have time to do something about it. Displays of pre-order & estimated cost calculations, as well as actual costs incurred during manufacture, are shown as they occur, as well as displaying data for groups or individual cells of machines.

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Features include:

  • Activated jobs appear on planning board instantly
  • Display machine capacity for working & non-working days
  • Color-coding status indicates factory floor workflow
  • “What if” tests overall factory & delivery dates production
  • Use stand-alone or integrate with existing ERP/MRP business systems
  • Real-time queued jobs are displayed by work center set against shift pattern

machine status viewReal-time machine data collection

Capturing real-time data from the shop floor does not have to be complicated.  Using your existing infrastructure and computers, our data collection solution Predator MDC can be added to your equipment with ease. Here is info on Data Collection for CNC Machines made simple.

Works with any type of  CNC control, including Mazak, FANUC, Haas, Okuma, Siemens, and Cincinnati. Compatibility also includes Robots, press brakes, bar feeds, welders, and more.

Report, chart and display on any workstation or LCD Monitor the current status of the machine to start.  Later, you can expand multiple plants, capture jobs, part counts, scrap reason and more with our Enterprise MDC. Learn More

More about our Machine Monitoring and Data Collection services through Predator MDC, as well as Scytec DataXchange:

Machine Monitoring gives you the ability to see what your machines are doing in real-time. Collect & process data from your machines using software like MTConnect, FANUC FOCAS, custom macros, or hardware devices. Optional data collection terminals can be used for additional operator input. Run time, downtime, & OEE data is then presented via dashboards, historical reports, & charts.  Emails or text messages can be sent to notify you of production issues on the shop floor.

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.

 

 

Onsite Services Special

Looking to improve communication to your CNC machines? We are offering onsite services to fine-tune your existing DNC system. We constantly have special discounts for our services.

Add cabling to a new machine, troubleshoot, move the system to a more reliable PC, or provide onsite training and consulting. We will make sure everything is set up properly and that your shop floor workers are trained before we take one step out of your shop and label the job as “done.”

We also have remote assistant services available, if you don’t have the time or current resources to bring one of our friendly techs to your shop. We have many references, via our Customer Testimonials page. We also have many customer success stories you can watch on YouTube. Call us toll free at (877) 611-5825 if you are ready to go!

What some customers have to say about Shop Floor Automations:

Your team did an excellent job getting us out of a jam with recent damage to our Extreme DNC PC which got zapped by lightning. Within minutes after its arrival, only about 14 hours after my phone call to your tech named Guy, my guys had it working to load programs into our CNC machines. -Matt Slay, Jordan Machine Co.

I am very happy with the software and it is having a positive impact on our productivity. Shop Floor Automations had been somebody that we worked with really before we acquired it 13 years ago. We had Predator and some of the software you supplied. Recently, we added the Scytec DataXchange stuff a few years ago, and you guys are just good problem solvers for us! There was minimal startup cost and it requires little software management on the user end. Significant increases in machine utilization, better information flow between engineering guys and programming guys, quality guys, shop floor guys, and us as owners! Knowing what’s happening on the shop floor. I would recommend you, and I have – we’re big proponents of the software and you have been a really good resource for us. We’re happy to use cloud-based solutions like Scytec DataXchange! -Jerry Halley, Tech Manufacturing LLC

Our Predator DNC system is running so well, that after over 2 years, I have moved the keyboard and monitor off my desk and into a corner. It requires no maintenance and provides us with a trouble-free system. – Mark Chambers, Tech Manufacturing

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.

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.

SFA Inc. & Alumco

SFA is the featured wireless hardware and software provider for Alumco in a CNC West article. Look for us in the CNC West April – May 2004 issue.

More about our wireless shop floor solutions

SFA offers industrial grade wireless devices with quick installation to connect to your CNC machines. Consumer level devices, like DLink or Netgear products, cannot withstand the manufacturing environment. Our products allow you to connect your RS232-based machines to your existing wireless network & we can even help if you lack an existing wireless network!

Costs of stringing cable will vanish. Machines with overhead cranes, traveling gantries, or those simply too far to cable are efficiently & reliably networked. Want to move your CNC machines? No need to change cables or re-configure software. Best of all, nearly any CNC machine can be connected using wireless! Any PC with a Wi-Fi compliant network card on this wireless network can be configured to access the wider PC network.

Encryption & spread spectrum technology, thanks to WEP, WPA, & WAP encryption features, means wireless DNC is the most secure & interference-resistant way to network CNC machines.

Want to get in touch with Shop Floor Automations? Call (877) 611-5825 toll free, or visit on social media. We also have a convenient chat engine on our site.

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!

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.

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Virtual Machine — Machine Simulation & Verification

Predator SoftwareProduct Description

Predator Virtual CNC and Virtual Machine integrates CNC verification and machine simulation within a single Windows-based product. Predator Virtual Machine is designed to accurately simulate the CNC, the machine and the machining process.

How it Works

Predator Virtual Machine works just like a machine tool. It requires CNC programs, offsets, stock material, tooling, and fixturing details. A 3D virtual machining environment is displayed to the user with VCR buttons to control the simulation. Unlike a machine tool, Predator Virtual Machine will safely detect machine crashes, broken tooling, CNC programming errors, and numerous other problems.

Initial setup requires the user to design a machine with any major CAD/CAM system. By leveraging the strengths of today’s solid modelers, machine design is faster and easier then ever before. The machine’s base and moving parts are imported into Predator Virtual Machine and the kinematics are defined. A library of machine types such as VMCs and HMCs simplify the kinematic definitions. CNC specifics are configured down to the G-code & M-code level. A library of 150 CNC controls that can be edited by the user, dramatically simplify initial configuration.

Read more below.

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Predator SoftwareShop Floor Automations announces Predator Software Updates for:

-DNC Version 3.2.052

-CNC Editor 5.2.9

-Virtual CNC 4.12

For more information about our Predator Software related services, read below:

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 some decades now.

Read more below.

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