As OEMs continue to drive additive manufacturing toward competitive series production, the industry is seeking concurrent software solutions to address management challenges. Some of the most common considerations faced by businesses integrating 3D into their workflows surround the question of prioritization, i.e. What is the correct distribution of resources for this print job? How can we reduce planning time in order to concentrate in more important production decisions? How do we handle data processing of such a large part volume?
In addition to these considerations, there are the added pressures of meeting production deadlines, what to schedule and when to schedule it.
Recently, Berlin headquartered 3D printing software company 3YOURMIND released its Agile Manufacturing Execution System (Agile MES) to tackle such challenges of additive manufacturing in production.
Agile MES is an expansion of the company’s existing end-to-end workflow management platforms, and is designed to help users digitally schedule and prioritize their 3D printed production.
Smart Part Prioritization and Agile Production Scheduling
Agile MES is a system initially composed of two main features: Smart Part Prioritization and Agile Production Scheduling. The most significant improvement delivered by these features for 3D service managers on the production floor is provided by the data based recommendation engine.Together, the features automatically determine which print jobs to prioritize, and when to start 3D printing.
At present, jobs are still created manually in the system. However, after creation, Agile MES provides automated smart scheduling recommendations based on material, technology, and delivery time. Within the program, the production process is monitored from start to finish. Further, connected to the 3YOURMIND ordering platform, Agile MES facilitates seamless part quoting, ensuring users don’t miss crucial data when switching between different programs.
The main advantages of such a system are firstly, you never have to miss a deadline again. Second, there is increased transparency of the workflow, so you can identify progress and areas for improvement. And thirdly, automation expedites the flow of information, and allows customers to leverage time for key decision making.
Leading 3D printer manufacturer EOS is a confirmed beta customer of 3YOURMIND’s Agile MES platform. According to Güngör Kara, Chief Digital Officer at EOS, “We are happy to announce the implementation of the Agile MES as a pilot version for our polymer benchmark production management solutions,
“As pioneers in the additive manufacturing (AM) industry, we strongly believe that only innovations will boost the adoption of the AM Technology. […] Our goal is to shape the future of manufacturing. We will achieve this by joining forces with complementary partners that share the same spirit of innovation, such as 3YOURMIND.”
Machine integration and automated scheduling
More features, including machine parameter and process integration and automated job scheduling, are currently in development as part of the company’s 2019 Product Roadmap. Stephan Kühr, CEO and Co-founder of 3YOURMIND GmbH, explains, “Our next priority is to create a strong direct connection from the Agile MES to individual machines. The collection of the real-time production data will further enable accurate production tracking and quality assurance,”
“We are determined to generate a fully integrated and automated platform that can serve as the data infrastructure for the Factory of the Future.”
Daniel Burckhardt, Agile MES Product Manager at 3YOURMIND will be available to discuss the company’s roadmap status at Formnext 2018 in hall 3.1, booth G70, on Tuesday 13th November from 16:00. Throughout the show, from the 13th through the 16th November, the company also promises a number of customer presentations to demonstrate how others are applying 3YOURMIND for problem solving.
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Featured image shows the Agile MES Dashboard. Image via 3YOURMIND
