Full flexibility on the shopfloor

"We work directly with the customer to analyze their data flow on the shopfloor level and map it out perfectly," Volker Schwegler, Senior Consultant and Product Manager at TDM Systems, summarizes the advantage of the new TDM Shopfloor Manager with TDM 2017 Global Line in one sentence. TDM Global Line is a central part of the "TDM next generation" program range which, besides TDM Global Line, also includes TDM 2017 and TDM Cloud Line, and was recently awarded the 2017 IT innovation prize for new software solutions.

Until now, tools were booked and then rebooked between the machine and the crib. "Today, we book tools as early as the tool assembly and presetting stages. Thus, we directly map out the actual, physical tool flow." In doing so, TDM Systems is always oriented towards each user's respective situation. Every person involved in a process should be able to view precisely the information they require for their specific task.

The module records the entirety of the tool circulation, from requirements planning for tool assembly, presetting and tool use at the machine, through to disassembling. The way these elements are combined will, in future, be based on various configuration options which essentially allow the modules to be slotted together according to each customer's needs.

Many companies combine assembly and presetting together in a tool room, for example. In this case, the tool room cost center can be represented and all necessary actions summarized on a single screen. It is also possible to assign a presetting to a machine in the configuration.

The operator's work is also made simpler. The fundamental principle is the to-do list: The operator ticks off each task step by step. Additional tasks are simply added to the list at the appropriate stages of the process. This is carried out via an interface with a modern design which the user can mostly put together themselves. Schwegler: "We know exactly what needs to happen with a tool so that it can be used. Now we can assign these tasks in such a way that it suits each customer."

The Tool Crib Module even records secondary cribs

The TDM Tool Crib Module Global Line is also available, providing new options. It has access to all apps in order to guide the tools through the tool cycle of the production process. The software supports ordering processes, controls and manages automated manual crib systems, and ensures optimum crib inventory levels.

In addition, the TDM Shopfloor Manager in TDM is fully integrated into the inventory management system of the TDM Tool Crib Module Global Line. This means that, in future, even tool assemblies in secondary cribs can be managed. This is important, for example, to subcontractors for whom the array of parts they manufacture on their machines is usually changing constantly, meaning that they require the same tools again only a short time after using them. In theory, such tools should be returned to the central crib and disassembled – something nobody does in practice. With the Tool Crib Module, a tool assembly can also be managed in secondary cribs near the machines. This means that it is always known exactly where the tool assemblies are and what condition they are in. Schwegler: "Disassembling, reassembling and presetting are no longer strictly necessary, saving significant time and costs."

In doing so, the fundamental principle is followed: If a job has been completed at cost center A, it is transferred to cost center B; "an ever balanced in and out". In accordance with the TDM strategy of Tool Lifecycle Management, this strengthens the integration of the machine tool into the process chain in the spirit of Industrie 4.0: The tool is assigned to a machine and the necessary data is transferred to the machine via an intelligent interface. The machine operator works with identical shop view options, regardless of the integration level.

This new flexibility should cover at least 80 percent of customer demands. Secondary cribs, central tool storage for multiple machines or machines for which the tool offset can already be transferred and machines for which it cannot, can all be mapped by one and the same software structure. According to TDM Systems, the majority of users require hardly any individual adaptations on this basis. Secondly: TDM Global Line is available everywhere in production via web browser any time it is needed.