Tools, dies and moulds with their life and service
Keep each mould, die, jig and fixture with its pieces per shot, its life and its service interval. The right tool is put on each job and its shots are counted when the job finishes. It is flagged for service and near the end of its life.
PLANSScale only
The problem it solves
- A mould runs past its service interval because nobody counted the shots.
- A die wears out in the middle of an order, and a new one takes weeks.
- Customer-owned moulds are mixed with your own, and nobody knows where each is kept.
- The job starts with a tool that is out for repair.
How it works
- Open Manufacturing > Products > Tools and Moulds > New. Give the tool number, kind, pieces per shot, life and service interval in shots. Add where it is kept, the items it makes and the machines it fits.
- When a job starts, it gets an available tool that makes its item and fits its machine; you can change it on the job. The tool becomes In Use.
- When the job finishes, a use is added: the pieces made and the shots (pieces divided by pieces per shot, rounded up). The tool is Available again.
- Once the shots since the last service reach the interval, the tool shows Service Due. Press Serviced after servicing: shots since service start again.
- At 90 % of its life, the person who added the tool gets a to-do. Send to Repair, Back from Repair and Scrap keep its status true.
Everything it does
The tool
- Name, Tool No., Kind: Mould (to start with), Die, Jig, Fixture, Cutting Tool or Other
- Pieces per Shot (1 to start with), Life (shots), Service Every (shots)
- Shots Used, Shots Since Service, Shots at Last Service, Life Left (%)
- Kept At, Makes (items), Fits Machines
- Owner: Ours (to start with) or Customer's, with the customer
- Status: Available, In Use, Service Due, At Repair, Scrapped
- Uses tab: each job with its production order, date, pieces and shots
Rules
- A job takes only an Available tool that makes its item and fits its machine (or fits any machine)
- A job cannot start with a tool At Repair or Scrapped
- Shots count from the good pieces of the finished job
- Scrap archives the tool
Who uses it
Maintenance TechnicianServices tools, sends them to repair and brings them back.
SupervisorPicks or changes the tool on a job.
Production ManagerAdds tools, watches life left and scraps worn ones.
Where you use it
- Web: Manufacturing > Products > Tools and Moulds; the tool on each work order
- Not on the shop floor terminal or in the SmartMy Manufacturing app
What you control
Settings
- Per tool: Pieces per Shot (1), Life (shots), Service Every (shots); empty means not checked
- Near end of life: at 90 % of the life, fixed
Notifications
- A to-do to the person who added the tool when it reaches 90 % of its life; no message event
Questions
Does the tool stop the job when service is due?
No. The tool shows Service Due and is no longer picked by itself for new jobs. A job given that tool by hand can still start. Only At Repair and Scrapped tools are refused.Are rejected pieces counted as shots?
No. Shots are worked out from the good pieces of the finished job, so a job with many rejects counts fewer shots than were struck.Can we keep customers' moulds apart?
Yes. Set Owner to Customer's and name the customer; filter the list by owner.Who is told when a mould nears its end?
The person who added the tool gets a to-do at 90 % of its life. There is no email or app message for it.Related features
PLANNING, QUALITY AND COSTPreventive maintenance by days, hours or cyclesEach machine gets maintenance plans that fall due by the calendar, by its running hours or by the pieces it has made. A due plan raises a maintenance request with its checklist and spares, and closing the request costs it and moves the plan on.PRODUCTION AND JOB WORKBills of materials, production orders and work ordersKeep each item's bill of materials with its components and the steps on your machines. A production order reserves the material, lays out the work orders step by step and puts the finished goods into stock at cost.SHOP FLOORThe shop floor terminal: a tablet at each machineA tablet at each machine or station shows its jobs in big tiles. Operators sign in with a PIN or badge, and start and pause jobs. They count good and rejected pieces with a reason, and stop the machine with a reason. Every count goes straight into the order.PLANNING, QUALITY AND COSTBreakdowns raised from the floor, spares and technician time costedWhen an operator stops a machine at the terminal for a breakdown reason, a repair request opens for that machine at once. The maintenance team is told. The stop time and the repair sit on one record, and the repair is costed in spares and technician time.LINES AND SCHEDULINGOEE per machine and day, and the machine board on a TVOEE is worked out every hour for each machine and day from its running time and the pieces counted at the terminal. It is split into availability, performance and quality. A machine board on a TV shows every machine as working, stopped or idle.
See your shop floor on it.
Tell us what you make, how many machines and people you run, and how production is recorded today. We will set up a line with you and run a job on the terminal.