Numbers only, big keys
Easy to hit with a gloved finger, or use a cheap USB numpad. No typing, no menus.
Tool tracking software
See each job’s tooling usage, and reorder before a machine sits.
Run out of inserts halfway through a job and the machine sits until the next delivery. I build tool tracking that shows every job’s tooling, allocated against used so far, so you reorder while there’s still time. Logging a change takes a few keys, greasy hands and all, and every change is saved, so it’s finally easy to find out how long each tool lasted on the last run.
- Tooling allocated vs. used, per job, live
- Reorder in time, with stock and open POs counted
- Numbers only, on big keys
- A first version typically in 2–4 weeks
Tool changes an operator can log with dirty hands, in a few keystrokes.
Live demoLive demo · log a tool change
Try it: pick T05, type 90 parts, then pick Chipped edge.
Tool–
7741-202 · Op 30 · Actuator housing
Demo machine · 5-axis mill · tool change
Loading the demo machine…
Its tools and their expected life come from the demo database.Demo A trimmed-down copy of a shop floor app I build, running on a made-up machine. Nothing you enter is saved.
Built for the operator
Faster than writing it on the sheet.
The app already knows the job, the machine and the tools in it. The operator just presses a few numbers.
The count is already there
Parts made since the last change are filled in. The operator just confirms.
Pick, don’t write
What was done and why are numbered choices from your own list. One key each.
Name, date and job filled in
Saved with every change. Early failures get flagged for the tooling engineer on their own.
The record paper never gives you
Stop digging through tool change sheets.
A paper log only helps if someone can find it and read it. Here, a tool’s whole history is one search away.
- When each tool was last changed, and how many parts it made
- Which tools die early, and on which machines
- What early changes cost you
- Which tools could run longer than planned
Tooling for the next job
Order tooling before a machine sits waiting for it.
Every change draws from the job’s allocated tooling, so you always know what’s left. Once I connect it to inventory and purchasing, it plans tooling for the next jobs too.
- Tooling used vs. allocated, per job, as it happens
- A heads-up to reorder while there’s still time
- Tooling needs for upcoming jobs, from each part’s tool list
- Shortfalls checked against the shelf and open POs
- Tooling set aside per job, so two jobs aren’t counting on the same box of inserts
How it fits
Built around your shop, hooked into your ERP.
At the machine
A tablet or terminal at the cell, plus a cheap USB numpad that can take a little coolant. Nobody walks to the office to log anything.
Jobs and parts from your ERP
Jobs, parts and ops come straight from Epicor, JDE or whatever you run. Nobody types a part number.
Your rules, not a template
Your checks, limits and reasons, the way your shop already works. Changes take days, not weeks and tickets.