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Setting up your shop floor..
In order to use the Agile MES to its full extent, objects like workstations and workflows need to be set up correctly. The Agile MES configuration can be accessed by entering the Service Panel and navigating to Settings > Agile MES Settings > Workstations or Workflows respectively. It is advised to create all workstations before setting up the desired workflows, as workstations need to be assigned to workflow steps in order to allow job scheduling in the MES.
Workstations
Enter Settings > Agile MES Settings > Workstations to configure the printers and post-processing workstations on your shop floor. Settings are generic and there is no differentiation between printing and non-printing machinery.
Except for the nesting type parameter which is limited to workstations of the type printing, all workstations share the same generic settings.
Property | Description | Mandatory |
|---|---|---|
Name | The workstations name that is displayed in the MES scheduler view after setup. | yes |
Type | Workstation type, can be set to:
| yes |
Description | Storing any additional internal information, e.g. company specific ID, serial number, location etc. | no |
Show in scheduler | Toggle off to hide the workstation from the MES' scheduler view | no |
Nesting Type | Depending on the technology used by the workstation, either use the entire 3D bounding volume or 2D bounding area for nesting. | yes - for Printing workstations only |
Materials | Allows the specification of all materials that are processable by this workstation. When scheduling jobs on a workstation, the scheduler checks if the selected parts match the workstations settings. Only parts requiring a material that is set in this field will be available for scheduling on this workstation. If no materials are selected at all, all parts can be scheduled regardless of their material. | no |
Job documentation form | Can be used to assign a pre-configured form to a workstation to document parameters on jobs that are performed on this workstation. | no |
Max Dimensions (mm) | XYZ-dimensions of the workstations build volume, to be specified in mm. | yes |
Nesting Type | Depending on the technology used by the workstation, either use the entire 3D bounding volume or 2D bounding area for nesting. | yes |
Load Factor | Defines the usable volume/area of the build chamber by multiplying with a configurable factor. Setting the load factor below 100% will shrink, above 100% will enlarge the volume/area used for nesting artificially. | yes |
Workflows
Secondly, workflows need to be defined in the MES. Workflows consist of a number of steps that need to be carried out to produce a part according to the specified requirements. Each of the steps in a workflow can be linked to one, multiple or no workstations. If no workstation is specified for a step, jobs can not be scheduled for this particular step of the workflow. A workflow can be set as default for a specific material in the materials “General” section.
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