Tool Management






Tool Management
 
 Improve the management of tools with Shopfloor-Online MES



 

 


 













Is the performance of high-value tools affecting your production and product quality?


Press tools, moulds, extrusion tools, fixtures, jigs are but a few examples where the tooling has a considerable effect on the process. Many tools produce more than 1 part at the same time e.g. multiple cavities, dies. Each of the cavities have their individual effect and must be managed accordingly. Use the Tool Management software module to:


    

  • Build a tool asset library, with information about each tool, including each cavity
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  • Track where and when tools are used
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  • Support faster change-overs
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  • Use the tool information to improve your production scheduling
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  • Manage the state of tools, know when they are good to use
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Create a tool library 


    

  • Record information about each tool
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  • Tools can be grouped into sets, where collections of tools are used together
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Manage multi-cavity/die tools


    

  • Record information about each cavity/die where tools are multi-head e.g. injection moulding tools
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  • Record when cavities are blocked and re-opened
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Track tool usage and life


    

  • Track tools as they are used in processes – when they are loaded and unloaded
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  • Know how many parts, cycles they have made to monitor tool life
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  • Monitor the status of the tools - when they are unusable, when they need repair
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  • Know where the tools are by tracking locations
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Reporting


    

  • Insight into current level of tool inventory
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  • Complete traceability history of each tool
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  • Multi-cavity tool performance (cavities open/closed history)
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  • Efficient tool tracking – track your tools, know where they are, where they have been used
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  • Go paperless – if that is how you record the use of tools today
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  • Faster change-overs – see when tool changes are coming up and mobilise accordingly
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  • Visibility – everyone can see where the tools are and what state they are in
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  • Reduce losses with multi-cavity tools – track the history of all cavities, when they have been opened and closed, make better decisions about when tools should be repaired rather than run with some cavities blocked
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  • Improve quality – track measurements by tool and cavity, monitor degradation, make better decisions on when to maintain
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  • Traceability – know what products were made with what tool and when
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The Tool Management module of Shopfloor-Online MES is really powerful when used in conjunction with other modules and is rarely used stand-alone:


    

  • Scheduling – to plan the use of specific tools on production runs
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  • Job Tracking – to know when and where tools were used or changed on each production run
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  • Asset register – to capture more detail about the tool
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  • Production Counting  – to capture life-time cycle and part counts, if multi-cavity tools are used the cycle counts can be converted to piece counts
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  • Quality – to record measurements against the tool and cavities and track performance
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  • SPC – real-time SPC charts from all quality data to alert operatives if measured values break control limits or trend rules
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  • Maintenance – to plan maintenance for your tools
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