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Materials, Standard Operations, Routings - The Materials setting

This page describes the Materials setting in the Production module, one of the settings that you need to configure when dividing Productions into stages. You can find more details about this configuration process on the following pages:
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Materials allow you to determine the components that will be used in each stage in the Production process (and the assembled Items if any that will result from each stage). A "Material" is simply a name for the basic type of Input or Output Item or task, but it is also the mechanism that connects the Items with the Standard Operations (i.e. with the stages in the Production process).

To work with the Materials setting, first ensure you are in the Production module. Then, if you are using Windows or macOS, click the [Settings] button in the Navigation Centre or use the Ctrl-S/⌘-S keyboard shortcut to open the 'Settings' list. If you are using iOS or Android, select 'Settings' from the Tools menu (with 'wrench' icon). Double-click (Windows/macOS) or tap (iOS/Android) 'Materials' in the list. The 'Materials: Browse' window listing the Materials that have already been entered opens. Select 'New' from the Create menu (Windows/macOS) or from the + menu (iOS/Android) to create a new record. Enter a Code and a Name and, when the record is complete, click the [Save] button (Windows/macOS) or tap √ (iOS/Android) to save changes and close it using the close box or by tapping <. Click the close box or tap < if you don't want to save changes.

Illustrated below is a Recipe in which the Input and Output Items have all been assigned Materials (on flip B of the matrix):

This Recipe will require three stages (i.e. three Operations): welding, painting and assembly. This is the Standard Operation for the assembly stage:

The assembly stage will use the "NUTS_AND_BOLTS" and "FINAL_ASSEMBLY" Materials. The Input and Output Items with these Materials in the Recipe will therefore be assigned to this stage.

When you enter the Recipe in a Production and create Production Operations from that Production, this will be the equivalent Production Operation:

This Production Operation allows you to remove the nuts and bolts from stock when you use them, and the final Item will be added to stock at the same time.

If you need to use any of the nuts and bolts at another time, e.g. during the welding stage, you will need to separate them in the Recipe (and therefore in the Production) by entering the "welding nuts and bolts" and the "assembly nuts and bolts" on separate rows even if they have the same Item Number, and you will need to mark them using a different Material. For example, you might need "NUTS_AND_BOLTS_A" and "NUTS_AND_BOLTS_B" as Materials, or, to be clearer, "NUTS_AND_BOLTS_WELD" and "NUTS_AND_BOLTS_ASSEM". This will ensure the correct nuts and bolts in the correct quantities will be used and removed from stock at the appropriate stage in the process.

Dividing Productions into Stages - Configuring Materials, Standard Operations and Routings:

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