OnTakt: Tools

Part of the OnTakt User Guide.

A tool is a physical tool present in a machine. Tools have a defined number of parts it can produce before requiring replacement, and they track how many parts have been produced between replacements.

Creating a new tool in Ontakt

1. Open the Tools page.
2. Click the +New Tool button.
3. Enter the name of the tool you are adding into the window that opens.
4. Click Create
5. The new tool will now be listed in the tools table.

Viewing tools

The tools table can be sorted by any column by clicking its name in the header, and more columns are available in the Columns dropdown menu.

Usage

The Usage column of the tools table shows the tool's current state in its active usage mode. Sorting the table by the usage mode will sort by the number of parts remaining before the tool is due for replacement.

Customizing tools

To get the most out of tool tracking, it is necessary to configure the life expectancy of each tool.

Additionally, setting a warning threshold will provide notification before a tool is fully used.

1. Open the Tools page.
2. Click the Edit button next to the tool you want to edit.
3. The following information is available for editing in the window that opens:
   • Part Life
     • Total life expectancy is the number of parts the tool will make before needing to be replaced.
     • The warning threshold will show an alert on the dashboard, highlight the tool in the table, and send a notification to the Slack channel assigned to the last machine to use the tool when it is expected to need replacement after this many more parts.
     • The current part count shows how many parts the tool has produced since it was last replaced.
   • Info
     • Name/Description determines how the tool will be labeled in the list of tools.
     • Location/Slot/Pot is the location of the tool in the machine and can make it easier to identify which tool needs replacement.
     • Type sets the icon displayed in the tool list and can make identifying tools easier.
   • Notes is a notepad for saving information about tools for future reference.
4. Click Save
5. The new tool will now be listed in the tools table.

Usage modes

As of client version 2.2.0, tools can be switched into one of three usage tracking modes from the Usage tab of the tool editor:

• Parts bases tool life on the number of parts produced. This is the default mode, and is best in most cases.
• Run time tracks the total time spent being reported by the machine as the active tool. This is best for very long cycle times.
• Clock time tracks the number of days since the last replacement. This is best for equipment that is always in use, such as filters.

The current usage mode of a tool will be displayed alongside its usage indicator in the tools table.

Note: As of server version 4.11.0, only data from the parts usage mode will be considered in reports, alerts, and ordering.

Replacing tools

When a tool is replaced in the machine, its part count should be reset in OnTakt.

1. Open the Tools page.
2. Click ⇆ Replace next to the tool you want to replace.

Test mode

Administrator and planner users have an additional "testing" checkbox in the tool replacement wizard. Checking this will not pull from an inventory point, but instead show a text box to describe the new item they are testing.

In the tool's history, these replacements will show this description in place of the inventory item name.

Test mode replacements on production and tool life charts will appear semi-transparent.

Replacement history

The tool replacement history window.

When a tool is replaced, a history entry is created that stores when the replacement occurred and how many parts had been produced before replacement. To view this data:

1. Open the Tools page.
2. Expand the ⇆ Replace dropdown next to the tool you want to view the replacement history of.
3. Click Replacement History

The 10 most recent replacements are displayed by default. The "Load 10 more" button will load the next 10 most recent starting after the oldest replacement listed.

The most recent replacement can be undone by clicking the undo button in the actions column of the table. This will delete the replacement record and set the tool's part count back to the replacement's part count.

The "show chart" checkbox will display a bar chart that shows the number of parts each replacement produced during its life. Hovering over a table row will highlight the corresponding bar in the chart, and hovering over a bar in the chart will scroll to and highlight the corresponding table row. The color of the bars corresponds to the color of the icon in the "reason" column of the table to show replacement reasons at a glance. The reason text can be displayed by hovering over the reason icon.

The average tool life of the replacements listed is also shown. The number of replacements to consider in the average can be changed, but it cannot exceed the number displayed in the table.

The "program breakdowns" checkbox will show a usage bar inside each table row that shows which programs' parts contributed to the replacement's part count.

Backdating tool replacements

Requires OnTakt server version 4.12.26 or newer.

In the Details step of the tool replacement wizard, the date and time input can be used to backdate a tool replacement. If this field is set, OnTakt will split parts on the tool's current life counter into those produced before the specified replacement time and those produced after.

Parts produced before the tool replacement will be counted in the replacement's part count, and parts produced after the tool replacement will be kept in the tool's life counter.

As OnTakt does not maintain individual records of what consumes a tool's runtime, the tool's current runtime counter will be divided between the backdated replacement and the tool based on the proportion of parts that were produced before and after the replacement date.

Tool Assemblies

A tool assembly is a group of tools that are located in the same tool slot in a machine. This is usually a combination of tool holders, drives, inserts, etc. Tools must be placed into an assembly, and then that assembly must be added to a process, to have their part counts updated when parts are produced.

Tool assemblies can be managed by clicking the Tool Assemblies button at the top of the Tools page. To add tools to an assembly, select them from the Tools page and then choose the assembly to add them to in the sidebar that appears. You can also click the + button next to the dropdown to create a new assembly for the tools.

Tool assemblies complete with tools can also be imported.

Inventory

See Inventory.