| Microrouting |  |
| A microrouting enables you to define stepwise information that is related to a routing operation. The defined microrouting information is available on production order documents such as operation notes and routing sheets. These documents provide the operators on the shop floor with procedures and work instructions that support their operations. The availability of procedures and work instructions ensures consistency, and can also be important for standardization issues (for example, ISO9000). A microrouting consists of operation steps that are linked to routing operations. The operation steps enable you to determine the sequence in which information is presented to the user. You can also enter a reference designator for the operation step to indicate where a specific component item must be mounted on the end item. For every operation step, you can define the following types of information: Instructions. Tools information. Process variables. The information that must be presented first, is linked to the first information step. The information that must subsequently be presented, is linked to the second operation step, and so on. Note You can also link information to a routing on the operation level without using operation steps. However, in this way, you cannot determine the sequence in which the information is presented. Instructions Instructions are references to external documents. These documents can include container instructions, tooling instructions, machine instructions, work procedures, and so on. A direct integration with a document application ( Data Management ) is provided. If an instruction is related to a document in Data Management, the corresponding application can be started online to view the document. Tools information On the shop floor, disposal of tools information can often be useful. Tools information linked to operation steps can indicate, for example, which tools are required to carry out a specific operation. Note The Tools Requirement Planning module enables you to plan tools for a production order. You can even choose to plan tools for a specific production order's operation. In a microrouting, you can also link tools for instruction purposes instead of for planning purposes. You can either link tools to a specific production order's operation or to operation steps. You cannot link tools to both operations and operation steps, because planning of tools can only be performed on one level. Process variables A process variable is a setting or an input value related to a machine, a tool, or a process that is relevant to carry out an operation. Examples of process variables are cutting depth, cutting speed, drilling speed, and temperature. Process variable information in a microrouting supports a shop floor operator's job on the work floor regarding process control. Process variables can be related to an operation, or to a combination of a task and a work center/machine. For each process variable, a unit of measure is defined. In addition, the process variable's target value is defined, and the upper limit and the lower limit. Related topics To set up a microrouting Overview of reference designators |