Building die planning software for extrusion
In extrusion, the die determines what can be made. An order without an available die, a die still in maintenance or a changeover that hasn't been prepared brings a press to a standstill. Appfront builds die planning software for extrusion: which die for which order on which press, with the status, maintenance and service life of every die alongside, so the schedule matches what is actually in the store.
What is die planning software for extrusion?
Die planning software for extrusion connects two things that in practice often run separately: the orders that need to go on a press, and the dies that make that possible. For each profile there are sometimes several dies, each with its own condition, its own number of pressings or kilos behind it, and its own place in the cycle of use, inspection, correction and maintenance. For aluminium, that includes nitriding, for example.
In many extrusion companies, that knowledge sits in the head of the production planner and in the die store. The production schedule is in the ERP, while the status of the dies is on a board or in a spreadsheet. When a rush order comes in, the asking around begins: is the die ready, has it been corrected, can it handle another run? A wrong assumption costs a changeover, an idle press or a run with rejects.
We build custom software because every extrusion company works differently. How many presses you have, which profiles you run, how you preheat, inspect and maintain dies, and whether you have your own die shop or work with an external one all determine how the software needs to plan. A generic planning package knows a machine and an order, but rarely the die as a scarce, wearing resource.
Die scheduled
The right one for every order.
Status known
Ready, in maintenance, on the press.
Service life
Tracked per die.
How we build your die planning software for extrusion
We start with your production: which presses, which profiles, how many dies per profile, and how the cycle of use and maintenance currently runs. Then we build a first version with the die register and the integration with orders, because the planning rests on those. You work with it for a while on one or two presses. Changeover preparation, maintenance, service life and the integrations with your ERP and press control follow once that goes well. After that, we keep the software up to date as your production changes.
Presses, profiles, dies.
The first version.
Changeovers and maintenance.
Go-live, monitoring, and maintenance when things change.
What die planning software for extrusion actually does
The components below come up in almost every die planning project. Which ones you need depends on your presses and your profiles.
Die register
Per profile, status and location.
Press scheduling
Orders with the right die.
Changeovers
Prepared and warmed up in time.
Maintenance
Inspection, correction, treatment.
Service life
Pressings or kilos per die.
Die maker
Ordering and reporting back.
Who we build die planning software for extrusion for
The software is intended for extrusion companies where the die determines the schedule and the overview currently lives on a board or in one person's head. The more presses, profiles and dies you have, the more it delivers.
Aluminium
Profiles for construction and industry.
Plastics
Profiles, tubes and sheets.
Rubber
Profiles and seals.
Die makers
Management and maintenance.
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This page is about planning dies in extrusion. For planning in general, see our page on production planning software, for injection moulding our page on the injection moulding planning app, and for the plastics industry our page on plastics industry software. You can read about our approach at custom software development.
Why Appfront for your die planning software for extrusion?
A press waiting for a die, a changeover that hasn't been prepared, or a die that runs one run too many costs an extrusion company capacity and material. That's what we build on: a schedule that knows which die is ready, changeovers prepared on time, and maintenance carried out at the right moment.
Less downtime
The die is ready.
Fewer rejections
Maintenance on time.
Less chasing around
Status visible to everyone.
Security and privacy in die planning software for extrusion
The software holds data about your profiles, customers and dies, plus drawings that often belong to the customer. Access is set up by role: an operator sees the schedule for their press, a die maker sees their jobs, and every change to status or schedule is logged with a name and timestamp.
The software runs in a European data centre or in your own environment, with encrypted storage and daily backups. An external die maker only sees the dies they have a job for.
Frequently asked questions about die planning software for extrusion
Questions extrusion companies ask before they get started.
It links orders to the dies they can be made with, and tracks for each die where it is, what condition it is in and how much it has already run. For every order, the planner can see which die is available and when a changeover needs to be prepared.
Yes. Orders, profiles and customers come from the ERP, and the software adds the dies and press scheduling to that. What has been produced goes back to the ERP, so nobody has to enter anything twice.
For each die, it counts the number of presses, kilos or metres produced with it, depending on how you measure it. At limits you set yourself, the die is flagged for inspection, correction or maintenance, such as nitriding for aluminium dies.
If the press control system can output the number of presses or the production figures, we import them automatically. If it can't, the operator reports the end of a run on a tablet. We look at which route fits in the first step.
Yes. A die that goes to the die maker gets that status in the schedule, and the die maker can receive a job and report back when the die is ready. That way the planner knows when it is available again.
The planner immediately sees which dies are available for that profile, which press the order fits on and which other orders get pushed back as a result. That lets them make a decision without first phoning around the warehouse.
For extrusion companies with several presses and many profiles and dies, where planning currently depends on a whiteboard or on one person. If you have one press and a handful of regular profiles, a simple overview is often enough.
Every die on the right press on time?
Tell us how you currently plan orders and dies. We'll show you how the software can handle it.