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Start Material Creation#

Overview#

The Start Material Creation feature enables the creation and association of materials to a Production Order when physical production begins.

This ensures that production execution in the system accurately reflects the physical units being processed on the shop floor.

Concept#

When a Production Order is released to production, physical units must be tracked and managed within the system.

This feature provides a controlled way to:

  • Create new materials representing production batches
  • Associate existing materials to a Production Order
  • Ensure that production execution is aligned with material tracking

Two operating modes define how materials are handled:

Creation Mode#

  • The system generates new materials automatically
  • These materials represent the quantity defined in the Production Order
  • Typically used when production starts from raw or untracked material

Reassignment Mode#

  • Existing materials are assigned to the Production Order

  • Materials can be:

    • Selected manually by the operator
    • Provided automatically through integration (API)

  • Typically used when materials already exist in stock or were pre-created

Functional Behavior#

Preconditions / Constraints#

  • The Product must have the attribute:

    • MaterialStartMode defined

  • A Flow Path must be defined:

    • At Production Order level
    • Or at Product level

  • The Production Order must have:

    • A defined Facility

System Configuration#

To enable this feature:

  • /SMT/StartMaterialsForProductionOrder/IsEnabled
    • Type: Boolean
    • Required: Yes
    • Description: Enables material creation for Production Orders

Additional configurations:

  • /SMT/StartMaterialsForProductionOrder/Form/
    Defines the form used during material creation

  • AllowExpansionFactorQuantityMismatch
    Controls whether quantity mismatches with expansion factors are allowed

Material Quantity Handling#

When creating materials, the system considers the expansion factor (e.g., panelization constraints):

  • The Fit to panel size capability adjusts the quantity to the closest valid multiple

  • The Allow mismatch with expansion factor option:

    • Enabled: allows any quantity
    • Disabled: enforces valid multiples only

This ensures that material quantities are aligned with production constraints while allowing flexibility when needed.

More information about expansion factor in the Material Serialization feature.

Key Capabilities#

  • Aligns system tracking with physical production start
  • Supports flexible material sourcing strategies
  • Ensures consistency with production constraints (e.g., expansion factor)
  • Enables both manual and automated workflows

You can find more detailed information in the Start Material Creation tutorial.