Industries · CNC machining
Time tracking and production control for CNC machine shops
In a subcontract machine shop, whether an order comes out well or badly often hangs on hours nobody writes down: the setup, the first-off adjustment, the part that has to be made again.
Where the hours go on a machining order
An order for machined parts is not just machine time. Before the first chip falls there is programming, tooling and fixture setup, and the first-off adjustment until the part comes out right. Then there is dimensional inspection, and sometimes a rework.
When all of that is written down as one number at the end of the day, you know whether the order went well or badly, but not why.
Sections that make sense in a CNC shop
The sections in Vexyon are the ones your shop has. In machining, a common split is this:
- Programming
- CAM and program preparation, if it is done in the shop.
- Setup
- Fitting tools and fixtures and the first-off adjustment, up to the first good part.
- Machining
- The hours on the lathe or machining centre with the batch running.
- Inspection
- Dimensional checks and, where needed, rework.
With the detailed entry, the operator picks customer, order, section and hours in a few taps on the screen, beside the machine. No walk to the office and nothing to type. What clocking in looks like.
Setup, kept separate
Keeping setup apart from machining is what makes the figure useful on short runs. If an order overruns, the hours by section say where: in setup, in machining or in inspection. The total alone cannot tell you.
And when a repeat order comes back, Vexyon’s history has the actual hours from last time, even if that order is no longer in the ERP. Actual hours against planned time.
Drawings next to the order
Drawings are uploaded by hand in the panel, by customer, by order or by order and section, and read right there. At section level each drawing carries a status: done, in progress or pending. There is no ERP sync: you upload them when it suits.
Getting started in a machine shop
If the ERP already holds the orders and planned times, Vexyon reads them read only and the clock-in dropdowns fill themselves. If not, you start without an ERP, adding customers and orders from the panel. The demo is prepared with your own sections and orders. How the ERP connection works.