The Hoffmann Group supports small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of the metal cutting industry to enter into the digital world of manufacturing with its digital solution Connected Manufacturing. As openness of the system is a top priority for the Hoffmann Group, it provides an open bidirectional interface (API) for connecting external systems. This enables e.g. vendors of enterprise resource planning management systems (ERP) to integrate their software with Connected Manufacturing thus allowing their users to transfer order data into production error-free and production data back to the ERP system. As a result, users can better calculate and plan orders and transfer them to the machine even more quickly and correctly. For SMEs that do not have an ERP system in place Connected Manufacturing offers its own order management system.

Providers of ERP systems can use the open interface to connect their solutions to Connected Manufacturing and enable the seamless flow of data in both directions. Orders can therefore be organised, controlled and monitored consistently via the ERP system; production data is available in real time for planning, post-calculations and analyses in the ERP system or planning and analysis tools connected to it. Connected Manufacturing also tracks all tools in real time on their path through production and simplifies tool planning. Thanks to this integration, capacity planning and on-time tool provision seamlessly dovetail and production capacities can be used more efficiently. The open interface is very well documented, meaning that the connection can be made available within a few days.

Companies that do not use an ERP system can manage their orders via the Connected Manufacturing order management system and therefore always keep an eye on manual and external work. Manual operations can be assigned to a workstation and external operations can be assigned to a service provider; components or assemblies that are not in-house are automatically identified so that production planning can be adjusted accordingly. In order to optimise use of resources, workstations, machines and service providers can be combined into work areas and all required resources can be assigned with the click of a button. It is therefore possible to divide production into individual production units in a structured manner and create orders even more quickly in the system.

About Connected Manufacturing
Thanks to the Connected Manufacturing digital production solution, small and medium-sized enterprises can manage their tools more efficiently, and optimally plan their use. For this purpose, Connected Manufacturing provides an overview of all tools and their digital twins in real time – from project planning in the CAM system, to the pre-setting device, right up to the machine. Alongside the master data, movement data – such as storage location or place of use – and pre-setting values are recorded and continuously updated. Based on this information, it is possible to always have the right tool in the right place and reduce scrap, re-working or machine downtime. A clear and intuitive interface enables users to operate the solution extremely quickly using a standard Internet browser. Tool serialisation is managed using RFID chips. Connected Manufacturing is currently available in eleven languages.