Implemented solution for tracking molds, assembly jigs, and their regular maintenance – Tools Management System
Customer Request
Record the frequency of use of molds for pressing products—entry into the work area, removal from the work area, reason for removal (completion of an operation/order, mold repair, mold damage, etc.) + storage on the PNR (mold racks).
Proposed Solution
Given that the molds pass through kilns during the manufacturing process, the first step was to address the labeling of the molds so that they could withstand not only these high temperatures but also the chemical processes the molds undergo. The size of the label was also limited by the available space on the mold itself. After a thorough analysis of this information and testing conducted directly on the production line, we selected a metal label with an engraved 2D code—known as DPM marking. These codes were also used to mark all locations (workstations) where the tracked molds might be found during the production process. The next step was to analyze all business processes and the customer’s requirements for the software solution’s functionality. After the customer approved the analysis and the data model, the application was programmed.
Commissioning
Operators on the production floor are equipped with MOTOROLA 3190 handheld PDA terminals with a built-in DPM code scanner. Each time a mold is handled, the operator scans the mold code and the workstation (machine) code indicating where the mold is being taken from or placed. At the same time, they can also enter the reason for handling the mold in this way—e.g., removal (completion of an order, mold defect, machine defect) or insertion (maintenance, storage, etc.). All information collected in this way is batch-transferred to a central database on an SQL server.
On the production engineer’s PC, it is then possible to view the Mold Specification Sheet and filter the data according to a selected parameter—for example, search for molds by SAP number, by customer, by location (PNR, maintenance), track how many times a mold has been used, etc. The application also includes an administrator module for updating master data by importing it from higher-level systems.
