Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for cNC turning shops.
A checklist built from how cNC turning shops work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Part masters with revisions
- Setup sheets and offsets
- Bar stock and heat numbers
- Lathe jobs and cycle time
- Trial piece and interval checks
- Outside process tracking
- Packing lists and invoices
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For owners
- For setters and operators
- For quality inspectors
- For stores and purchase staff
- For the dispatch desk
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Jobs by lathe with pieces made, rejects and balance
- Actual cycle time against quote, by part number
- Bar stock by heat number and certificate status
- Rejects by cause: taper, thread fit, burr, finish
- Parts at outside vendors, with return dates
- Enquiries quoted, ordered or dropped, grouped by buyer
- Delivery performance against promised dates
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- WhatsApp or other messaging
- Accounting export
- Barcode labels
- Tablet at the machine
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Does it hold programs and offsets per component?
- Can heat numbers reach a delivered lot?
- How does a revision reach the lathe?
- Can parts out for plating be followed?
- Does each lathe need a computer?
- Can quotes use our own cycle times?
- What happens to our spreadsheets?
- What does it cost a turning shop?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Offsets are rebuilt at every repeat
- A revision change misses the machine
- Bar stock loses its heat number
- Quotes rest on a remembered cycle time
- Parts at the plating vendor go unseen
Prefer to talk it through? See the cNC turning shops page.