Malvern-based Lantek Systems Ltd (www.lanteksms.com/uk) is offering software tools that provide the first steps to implementing Industry 4.0 strategies at sheet-metal companies. With the Lantek MES Manager manufacturing execution system, engineers can upload a bill of materials for the products being manufactured, including parts and sub-assemblies.

The components are then filtered according to material type and thickness, ready for nesting in Lantek Expert CAD/CAM software.

At this stage, additional parts from other jobs or remanufactured components can be added to the nest, optimising material utilisation.

Within Lantek MES Manager, the full sequence of operations required for the manufacture of each part or sub-assembly is stored. These operations can include, for example, laser cutting, punching, bending, assembly and painting.

On the shopfloor, Lantek MES Wos resides on standard touch-screen computers or tablets, where it is used for data capture and providing operators with details of the sequence of manufacturing operations.

Machine start and finish times are recorded for cutting, while for other tasks, employees can log on to jobs and operations, logging the progress of each part around the workshop in a paperless environment.

Links back to Lantek MES Manager make this information available in report form, so that managers can see the exact location of parts in the production process — in real time.

With this live information, companies can assess and improve the efficiency of machinery and processes, ensure that parts are delivered on time, detect delays and cost over-runs, and give customers accurate information about the progress of their orders.

For manufacturers with an existing ERP or sales-order processing system, data can be transferred into and out of Lantek MES Manager, making use of the investment in existing technology.