Custom heat treatment outsourcing registration software
Most metalworking companies outsource hardening, tempering, annealing and nitriding to a specialist heat treater. Afterwards, you need to be able to show which parts left with which specification, what was measured and which certificate goes with them. Appfront builds the software that records every shipment, from delivery note to return, with the certificate, the goods-in inspection and the integration with your customer's order.
What is software for recording outsourced heat treatment?
Heat treatment changes the properties of steel: hardening makes it hard and wear-resistant, tempering removes brittleness, annealing makes it soft or stress-free, and nitriding gives it a hard surface layer. Few metalworking companies have their own furnaces for this. The parts go to a heat treater, with an order stating which treatment and which outcome is required, for example a hardness in HRC or HV and a case depth.
What happens next is often scattered. The delivery note is in a folder, the order is in an email, the heat treater's certificate or measurement report arrives later as a PDF, and only the production planner knows which parts from which batch went into which customer order. When a customer asks for proof of the treatment, or when a batch fails to meet the specification, the search begins.
We build custom software because requirements differ per customer and per industry. One customer wants a certificate with every delivery, another only asks for one in an audit, and in the automotive industry the CQI-9 audit applies to heat treatment. The software tracks your orders and your heat treaters, and connects to your ERP so that nothing is entered twice.
Every shipment recorded
Parts, specification and delivery note.
Certificate with the batch
No more searching through email.
Traceable
From part to customer order.
How we build your software for recording outsourced heat treatment
We start with your outsourcing: which treatments go to which heat treaters, how an order currently leaves the building, which specifications and certificates your customers ask for, and how you check on return. Then we connect to your ERP, so orders, parts and customer orders are already in the system. We often start with the shipment and the return with the certificate, because that answers the customer's question. Incoming inspection and deviations follow once that runs well. After that, we keep the software up to date as customers or heat treaters set new requirements.
Treatments, heat treaters and requirements.
Orders, parts and customers.
Shipment, return and certificate.
Go-live, and maintenance when requirements change.
What software for recording outsourced heat treatment actually does
The components below come up in almost every system for recording outsourced heat treatment. Which ones you need depends on your customers and your work.
Shipment
Parts, quantities and orders.
Specification
Hardness and depth.
Delivery note and return
With expected date.
Certificate
With the batch.
Incoming inspection
Measured and recorded.
Traceability
Down to the customer order.
Who we build software for recording outsourced heat treatment for
The software is intended for metalworking companies that regularly outsource heat treatment and need to be able to prove it. The stricter your customers, the more it delivers.
Machine builders
Many parts. Assembly waits.
Turning and milling
Series. Certificate per delivery.
Tooling and moulds
Precision. Hardness counts.
Automotive suppliers
Strict requirements. The audit counts.
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This page is about recording outsourced heat treatment. For planning all outsourcing in a project, see our page on the outsourcing planning app for mechanical engineering, for the origin of your material our page on batch traceability for metal products, and for the workshop as a whole our page on metalworking software. You can read about our approach at custom software development.
Why Appfront for your software for recording outsourced heat treatment?
A delivery note in a folder, a certificate in an email, and a production planner who is the only one who knows which parts are in which order cost a metalworking company time with every customer question and certainty in an audit. That is what we build on: every shipment recorded, the certificate with the batch, and traceable down to the customer order.
Proof at hand
For every customer question.
Audit-ready
Everything per batch.
Deviations caught in time
On receipt, not at the customer's.
Security and privacy in software for tracking outsourced heat treatment
The software processes data about your orders, customers and suppliers, plus drawings and specifications that are often confidential. Access is set up per role, and every entry is logged with who made it and when, so the file stands up to an audit.
The software runs in a European data centre, with encrypted storage and daily backups. We document the processing in a data processing agreement.
Frequently asked questions about software for tracking outsourced heat treatment
Questions metalworking companies ask before they get started.
Which parts are leaving, in what quantities and for which orders, which heat treater they are going to, with which treatment and specification, the delivery note and the expected return date. On return, the heat treater's certificate or measurement report, your own inspection and any deviations are added. You decide exactly what needs to be included.
The specifications you agree with the heat treater, such as the treatment, the required hardness in HRC or HV with a tolerance range, and the case depth or nitriding depth. The software places the heat treater's results, the hardness profile and your own measurement alongside them, and keeps track of whether test pieces came back too, so it is clear whether the batch meets the specification.
Usually as a PDF by email or via a portal run by the heat treater. The software links the document to the shipment and the batch, and where possible we read out the measured values so they are not retyped. We will look at the route for each heat treater in the first step.
You record the deviation against the batch, with the measurement and a photo. The software shows which orders are affected and tracks the re-treatment or rejection. This also shows you how often things go wrong per heat treater.
Yes. Because the shipment is linked to the parts and the customer order, you can see for every delivery which treatment, which batch and which certificate belong to it. When a customer asks or an audit comes up, you send the overview instead of searching through folders.
Often, yes. Orders, items, customer orders and purchase orders for the heat treater come from your ERP, and the records go back wherever you want them. We will look at which integration is possible with your package in the first step.
For machine builders, suppliers of turning and milling work, tool and mould makers, and suppliers to the automotive industry or other sectors with strict requirements. If you only occasionally outsource a few parts and nobody asks for a certificate, a folder is often still enough.
Every treatment provable?
Tell us which heat treatments you outsource and what your customers ask for. We will show you what the software looks like.