SeedTactic Features
Software for Flexible Manufacturing Design, Implementation, and Continuous Improvement
Justify a New System
Forecast machine quantities, estimate required labor, compare automation systems, and decide on required flexibility. Predict a cost-per-piece. Create a comprehensive project justification based on a realistic implementation plan.
Barcode and Track Parts
Automatically scribe a unique barcode on each part during machining. Track material through multiple processes across multiple pallets. Use barcode scanners to view the specific piece of material's history. Assign material to fulfill workorders and report workorders to the ERP.
Orders from ERP
Custom plugin to import orders from your ERP and generate a schedule. Use AI to optimize the system daily, taking into account due dates and available capacity. Automatically transfer all data into the cell controller.
Daily Monitoring
Compare plan to actual production, track load station operator times, see machine hours and OEE, predict tool usage, and more. Targeted reports for supervisors, managers, quality control engineers, and the tool room to assist with daily decision making.
Continuous Improvement
Analyze data from production to find flexibility problems and bottlenecks. Forecast the impact of potential part-pallet-machine combination changes. Implement an inspection plan which guarantees each combination of part-pallet-machine is periodically inspected. Cost per piece calculations based on the last month of actual operations.
Robotic Loading/Unloading
Provide the control and data for an automatic load/unload robot. SeedTactic software can send and receive instructions telling the load/unload robot what to load, what to unload, and what to reclamp based on the calculated schedule.
SeedTactic Planning
Planning is a desktop software program which allows you to simulate a FMS cell to predict machine and labor utilization, anticipate cost per piece, and investigate sensitivity to fluctuations in orders.
FMS Specific Part Flow
SeedTactic Planning is specific to a rail-based flexible manufacturing system, allowing easy data entry of multiple processes, fixtures, machine cycle times, and load/unload times. SeedTactic Planning automatically simulates the cart, pallets, rotary tables at the machines, and more without any complex user-required data.
Flexible Path-Based Routing
Implement flexible lean manufacturing by easily configuring specific machine and pallet combinations. A single part can have multiple paths through the system, where each path is a different combination of machines, pallets, fixtures, and load stations.
Simulate Machine and Labor Utilization
Use a detailed simulation to accurately predict the quantity of machines, number of operators, and number of fixtures required. Determine the system's bottleneck and adjust the flexibility and part paths to ensure the system runs with high efficiency.
Calculate Monthly or Yearly Production Rates
Enter monthly or yearly demand to see the rate of parts produced per hour. Investigate how changes in the number of hours per day or days per week will impact part production rates.
Estimate Cost/Piece
Use the simulation output to calculate a cost per piece. Planning splits the machining and labor cost among the parts based on the simulated percent utilization. Determine how changes in the number of machines or number of operators will impact the final cost per piece.
Predict Daily Schedules
Test the system design against a variety of part and order mixes to determine if the system will perform efficiently across different daily scenarios. Try various combinations of parts, fixtures, pallets, and machines to find an optimal flexibility plan which keeps the machines busy but avoids traffic jams.
SeedTactic OrderLink
OrderLink is a software program which loads orders from your ERP, optimizes the orders using AI to produce a daily schedule, and sends the schedule to the cell controller over the network. OrderLink can be configured to run automatically once a day.
See Documentation →
ERP Orders
Import orders with priorities and due dates from your ERP system, either via a CSV file or a small custom plugin.
Production Optimization
Use AI to combine the flexibility plan, orders, and due dates to produce a daily schedule. The daily schedule will keep the machines busy, run the system lean, while also preventing traffic jams and bottlenecks.
Simulation based Daily Schedule
View the predicted machine and labor utilization for the generated daily schedule. This allows gradual tweaks to the pallet-machine assignments to ensure the system runs lean and efficient.
Cell-Control Integration
Automatically copy the optimized daily schedule into the cell controller. OrderLink will create all the necessary data in the cell controller, removing a large manual error-prone process.
Workorder Upload to ERP
For each order, report to your ERP system the order cost, broken down by machine hours used, labor hours used, and material costs.
SeedTactic: FMS Insight
FMS Insight is a webserver which runs on the cell controller. It collects and stores data on the operation of the cell, provides webpages for operators, supervisors, and managers to view the cell's production, and accepts the daily schedule from OrderLink.
See Documentation →
Broadcast Info Throughout the Factory
FMS Insight provides easily accessible targeted pages for operators, engineers, supervisors, and management. Each page displays information about the cell targeted at the specific user; for example, the operator page shows the load and unload instructions for the current pallet.
Load/Unload Instructions
FMS Insight provides a touchscreen friendly view of information at the load station, including what part type to load, what part type to unload, serial assignment, inspection decisions, load instructions, and workorder assignment.
Scribe Barcode in the Machine
Use a custom plugin to automatically create a NC program to scribe a barcode containing a unique serial, part name, pallet, machines, or any other information. The NC program is automatically created in response to pallet movement events using the FMS Insight plugin API. FMS Insight then tracks the material throughout the entire process and can display historical data about a specific serial.
Tool Monitoring
Use statistics to automatically calculate the tool usage per program and provides a report showing the expected use from the currently scheduled parts. Compare expected tool use to the current remaining life of tools currently in the machines.
Supervisor Dashboard
FMS Insight provides a status dashboard for supervisors which shows an overview of the daily operations of the cell. The dashboard shows the progress on the current jobs, recent statistical outlier load and machine events, machine and labor OEE for the previous week, and more.
Custom Inspections and Quality
Customized inspection triggers can support your workflows, such as ensuring each combination of pallet and machine is periodically inspected. FMS Insight provides a view of the serial's events at the inspection stand which allows the operator to view the pallet, machine, and date/time of the part being inspected. Finally, quality engineers can view recent failed inspections and lookup failed serials.
Efficiency Improvement
Using the event log, FMS Insight provides reports and charts targeted at iteratively improving the efficiency of the cell. These reports have been built up over decades of experience to highlight the places where small changes to pallet or machine assignments can lead to large performance improvements
Workorder Assignment
FMS Insight provides a screen which allows an operator to assign a piece of material to a workorder. This goes into the event log and FMS Insight can track how many parts have been assigned to a workorder. If serials/barcodes are used, the individual serials are tracked in the workorder to allow ERP cost calculations at the workorder level.
In-Process Material Tracking
FMS Insight uses the event log to provide a touchscreen friendly view of all the material in the cell. This is helpful when material enters and leaves the automated handling system, such as between part processes or if parts are transferred from a lathe cell to a horizontal cell.
Customized Plugins for Manufacturing Events
FMS Insight provides a plugin API which allows customized actions in response to various events such as pallet movements, machine cycle start, and load/unload events. We can work with you to develop a custom plugin to enhance your specific workload.
Load Robot Integration
Send load/unload instructions to a load robot PLC, integrate material tracking between the load robot and the cell controller, and provide customized scheduling and integration based on a customized FMS Insight plugin.
Free And Open Source
FMS Insight is a free and open source program which runs on the cell controller and provides material tracking, station monitor GUIs, and data analytics. FMS Insight incorporates the latest best practices in security allowing you to safely connect the cell to your factory network.
Get Started Today
Contact our integration experts at CMS Research to obtain a free customized quote, see live demos, arrange a visit to one of our customers, obtain expert advice, receive training, and more. CMS Research has decades of experience managing a flexible manufacturing system all the way from initial design to optimized production.
Email cms@cmsres.com or call 1-920-235-3356.