Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for industrial rubber parts manufacturers.
A checklist built from how industrial rubber parts manufacturers 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.
- Compound lot and preform record
- Mould and cavity register
- Press run and cure log
- Insert preparation and bond test
- Trim, hardness and gauge checks
- Customer schedule and dispatch
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For owners
- For planners
- For mixing and preform staff
- For press operators and trimmers
- For inspectors and dispatch
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Release against production by part and week, with the shortfall
- Compound batches and the parts made from each
- Shots and rejects by mould and cavity
- Peel and pull results by insert lot, with failure mode
- Preform weight drift by run
- Plating and post-cure quantities out and returned
- Customer returns by part and compound batch
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- Barcode and label printers
- Spreadsheet import for customer schedules
- Accounting export
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Can it load a monthly release?
- How does it link parts to compound batches?
- Does it keep bond test results?
- Can one cavity be blocked?
- How are outside processes handled?
- Can it print inspection reports?
- Does it need machine connections?
- Is there a demo on our own parts?
- How does stock work for finished parts?
- Can records be exported?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Compound lots are untraceable after the press
- Preform weight is set by feel
- Mould cavity wear goes unlogged
- Bonded parts lack a proof of adhesion
- Schedules change faster than the press plan
Prefer to talk it through? See the industrial rubber parts manufacturers page.