COMPASS® IV

Determines the optimal nested shearing/cutting patterns for producing parts from master sheets.

• COMPASS® IV material optimization software is designed for companies that shear/cut part blanks from master sheets. It is used in the production scheduling process to quickly and easily determine cost efficient ways to cut  daily part requirements.

• COMPASS IV analyzes production requirements, manufacturing constraints, material costs and available sheet and drop inventory. It determines the best nested-shearing patterns that minimize scrap loss and production time. Optimization settings allow the user to balance between production costs, pattern complexity and material utilization. Printed graphical shearing patterns eliminate cutting errors and increase shearing productivity.

• Using COMPASS IV minimizes planning time and production costs, as well as the time it takes to implement changes in production schedules or part demands. The software can also improve the quoting process by providing a quick and accurate estimate of material requirements and costs.

The sections below provide more information about the COMPASS IV material optimization software. From the Downloads page you can also view a demo video (in Flash format) or download a software brochure (in PDF format).

COMPASS IV - It's like having an optimization expert at your side
COMPASS IV material optimization software is designed for companies that shear part blanks from master sheets. It is used in the production scheduling process to quickly and easily determine cost efficient ways to shear daily part requirements.

COMPASS IV analyzes production requirements, manufacturing constraints, material costs and available sheet and drop inventory. It determines the best nested-shearing patterns that minimize scrap loss and production time. Optimization settings allow the user to balance between production costs, pattern complexity and material utilization. Printed graphical shearing patterns eliminate cutting errors and increase shearing productivity.

Using COMPASS IV minimizes planning time and production costs, as well as the time it takes to implement changes in production schedules or part demands. The software can also improve the quoting process by providing a quick and accurate estimate of material requirements and costs.

An optimization study is easy to perform
The user starts a COMPASS IV optimization study by providing part, constraint, and master sheet information for the material type to be optimized. The part and master sheet information may be quickly and easily entered in the spreadsheet-like Parts and Master Sheets windows, respectively. Part information may also be imported from other systems.

Once the part and master sheet data is ready, the user starts the optimization routine by simply clicking the Go button. The software first checks the data to insure a valid analysis will be performed. The software then automatically determines the shearing patterns -- typically within 5 to 10 minutes. While the software performs the calculations, the Optimization Status Window displays the progress and percentage complete.

When the optimization routine completes, the View Solutions Window is displayed. The shearing patterns are graphically displayed, along with solution statistics -- such as scrap, cost, parts produced and master sheets used. The user can then print reports containing information for scheduling and shop orders.

Long Term Investment
COMPASS IV will pay for itself in 1 to 4 months. In all succeeding months and years, the savings will be greater, since the software was paid-in-full the first year. Because operating and material costs tend to increase over time, savings will increase also.

Since the software will be used as long as your company does shearing operations, funds spent on COMPASS IV are a long term investment — just like shears.

Reduces Scrap Loss and Planning Time
COMPASS IV’s powerful optimization routines can consider thousands of different shearing pattern combinations — a lot more than could be considered manually. This means lower scrap solutions are found.

By using computers and specialized optimization algorithms, the extremely time-consuming process of manually selecting sheets and determining shearing patterns is dramatically reduced.

General Information

• Operates in the popular Microsoft Windows environment
• A typical optimization study completes within 5 to 10 minutes
• Each software license includes installation disks, printed user's manual, and technical support with software updates for an initial time period
• On-site Installation and Training is available.
• Ongoing Technical Support is available
• Ongoing Software Updates is available

Quick to Evaluate and Easy to Implement
COMPASS IV material optimization software can be quickly evaluated and justified by taking advantage of our sample optimization case study offer.

We will provide you with the results of an actual COMPASS IV optimization study — using a sample set of your own data. The reports will help you understand how to utilize the optimization results within your operation. The case study will quickly convey the savings potential, and help justify the software purchase.

After one day of initial training, the user(s) will be able to run the software effectively and independently.

Since you won’t have to change your existing computer systems or business procedures, the implementation will be smooth and easy.

Want to Learn More?
For more information about our optimization software products or consulting services, call 724-325-2900 x4, or contact us today.