Proper engineering is the essential starting point for any production run. Engineering is a costly process and requires a high variety of skill sets. Engineers allocate much of their time not only drawing, but ensuring the quality of their products, confirming proper specifications are assigned to the drawing, and creating the most cost effective design. This often gets lost in what we call E to I, or Engineering to Implementation. So the question has been, how can we get this information to the end product?

There have been several answers to this problem. The first was to create a system that helps control the engineered drawings up front. This “vaulting system” confirms the proper drawing is used during the manufacturing process, but doesn’t carry information to the shop floor. The second answer was to use a system to physically track the part and relate this information back to engineering. However, these “shop floor” systems do not ensure the integrity of a part until final delivery or assembly.

The solution? A single source system. A lot of information goes into a single drawing for an engineered part. When that part is added to an order, all the components – material type, quality specifications, routing operations, and final assembly steps – should follow the part through the entire process. A single source system needs to not only contain this information, but duplicate this data directly from a drawing. This will help control drawings, revisions, and reduce the time it takes to redraw any engineered component. No information is lost and work is not duplicated through timely engineering checks. Manufacturers can now create the best possible practice to guarantee the best results.

A single source system can also store all data as one. Any component can be called out in seconds by a simple date, order, customer, or drawing number, and turned into a production run without any reengineering or loss of time. Not only is the engineering data now controlled, but the ever-changing manufacturing environment is controlled as well.

An engineered part should conform to the changes in manufacturing with the proper use of a single source system. When material costs, operation costs, and gross profit margins change, a single source system can recognize these changes and apply them to the production run. This recognition allows a re-run of a part and automatically re-costs it to fit the current setup. It can also be used to run shop floor reports, profit reports, and to fine-tune processes.

A single source system must also contain procedural results that can be automatically conveyed from engineering to the shop floor. Once a clear understanding of this relationship is achieved, manufacturers can obtain true costs, scrap rates, and best engineering practices.

When all the information is stored in one location, manufacturers can reach the highest levels of production. A single source system can guarantee the entire procedure will be accurate from component, material, or operations costs and actual runs to effectiveness of the shop floor and engineering precision.

SigmaTEK hosted its European SigmaNEST Users Conference in March providing attendees an opportunity to network and learn about new product features. A total of 56 people attended presentations in Solihull, England, from Applications Engineer Mark Cooper, General Manager Chris Cooper, SigmaMRP Manager Chris Thompson, and SigmaTEK President and CEO, Ben TerreBlanche. The conference concentrated on the new features of SigmaNEST Version 10 and introduced SigmaMRP. The presenters also addressed different aspects of the product: Unfolding, Press Brake, Color Offload, Nesting, and more. Among the attendees were special guests Omax Waterjet and MSS Laser.

Presentations were given by Applications Engineer Mark Cooper, General Manager, Chris Cooper and SigmaTEK President and CEO, Ben TerreBlanche. Topics included SigmaNEST, SigmaMRP, a Help Desk Clinic, and more.

“We believe the day was a great success and are looking to replicate the same in the North of England and in Holland,” Chris Cooper remarked. “Customers were extremely satisfied.”