See also Plate Inventory and Plate Lifecycle
The primary function of this mode is for managing Plate Inventory:
•Add Plates to stock
•Remove Plates from Stock (scrap, Sell, Return etc)
•Create Plate Orders (Preorder -> Backorder)
•Receive Backorders into Stock
•View Plate Stock
•Report on Plate Stock
•Perform Stocktakes
•Freeze and Thaw Stock Plates
Offcut Remnants are highlighted with a large R superimposed on them, or if they are skeleton remnants , a "green bone".
Plate properties are best edited in Nesting Mode once the plate has been added to stock.
Explorer Buttons
Creates new plates by specifying Grade, thickness, length and width, or from Plate Templates. When a plate has been added it will show in the New Plates Explorer at the top left (one is shown above, Gr250 1/2"). The plate is not saved to the database until you right click on the plate and select Save or press the Save All button; if yopu exit without saving the plates are simply discarded.
As the plate is saved to the database, we record the PrimeCut user who added it and the date at which it was added to stock. See also Add New Plate
Similar to adding a new plate as above, but allows irregular geometry to be added if a DXF or DWG representation of the plate is loaded- useful for loading irregular remnants into stock
Also allows bulk plate imports from CSV or KISS files, see Importing Plates to Stock using CSV Files
View/Reset Plate Inventory Selector
Shows the Plate Inventory selector at the right, resets the view.
Shows the list of stoick reports available. Typical reports include stock take reports, stock valuation, tonnage reports.
Open New Inventory Plates in Nesting Mode
When new plates have been added to stock, will jump to Nesting Mode with these plates opened.
Save all added (or modified via properties) plates to the database
Return to the home screen
Shows various properties for the newly added plate(s). Once a plate has been added to stock, you cannot edit its properties in this mode. Use Nesting Mode instead.
The Inventory Selector can be filtered in a number of ways:
• Plate Type can be any one of
•Plate Condition- various plate conditions may be recorded against a stock plate. Different cutting lookup data can be applied to different plate conditions:
oSuperior
oGood
oFair
oPoor
oBad
oMill Scale
oElectro-Galvanized
oHot Dipped Galvanized
oAnti Rust Paint
oFoil
oPattern Rolled ("Chequer plate")
oBrushed
oMirror Polished
oDouble Sided Foil
oPickled and Oiled
oRusted
oAbrasive Blasted
•Grade and Thickness
•Heat and Serial- Can use wildcards (*) to match either or both
•Plate Size- You can set Conditions such as >=, =, toleranced =, <=on both length and width.
•Plate Owner
•Machine Allocation
Show Expected Remnants- will show Expected Remnants if checked.
Filter by My Sites- will show only plates in the users "My Sites" group. See Sites.
Fetch By ID- will show a particular entered PlateID only
Plate Inventory Selector: Context Menu and Buttons
Remove the selected plate(s) in the Plate Inventory Selector from stock. The plates are not physically deleted from the database but are marked as deleted, so traceability is maintained. A dialog is shown asking for the reason for removal:
Valid reasons are Scrapped, Sold, Transferred, Returned to Supplier, and Lost.
Notes can also be added. As when newstock is added, PrimeCut records the user who removed the stock and when.
Allows editing of several plate attributes:
•Plate Location
•Plate Purchase Price
•Site
This opens the Audit Plate dialog for changing Heat and Serial Numbers, Suppliers and Test Certs.
Undelete: Returns a deleted plate back to its in-stock state.
Freeze/Thaw: Allows a plate to be frozen or thawed. A frozen plate cannot be nested onto. When a plate is frozen, comments can be logged as to why it was frozen, and the name of the user freezing it and date frozen are logged.
Change Condition- allows plate condition status to be altered
Set Owner- set the Owner of the plate (customer owned plate)
Change Order Info- On a Preorder plate, can be used to create an order, thus turning the plate into a backorder plate:
Receive Back Order- Receive a Back Order plate into stock.
Open Plates in Nesting- open the selected plates in Nesting mode. Also useful for modifying properties on plates via the properties dialog.
View Related Plates- shows the entire plate family for a selected plate (child plates, parent plate, grandparent plates, aunts, uncles, cousins and nephews and nieces!)