Beamcore talks to your machines in two ways. With the BTLx export the beams of a project go to the cutting or wall line. With the machine connection the machine reports back what is finished, so nobody has to tick things off anymore. The BTLx export is part of the Productie (Production) add-on (€99 per month per production line).
Downloading a BTLx file
BTLx is an open file format read by machines from Hundegger, Weinmann and Randek, among others. Beamcore creates it from the current processed IFC revision of the project. You find the buttons here:
- BTLx heel project (BTLx whole project): on the Productie (Production) tab, in the card of the IFC model.
- BTLx dit element (BTLx this element): in the header of an element on the same tab. Not for loose material.
- BTLx downloaden (Download BTLx): on the Zaaglijsten (Cutting lists) tab.
For each beam the file contains the position number, the cross-section, the length, the material, the strength class, the quantity, the element number and the zone. Identical beams within an element become one line with a quantity. Sheets and electrical parts are not included. The file contains no machining: the machine only cuts to length. You need access to the Production tab of the project.
Setting up the machine connection
- Go to Productie → Machines en onderhoud (Production → Machines and maintenance).
- Open the Machinekoppeling (Machine connection) menu of the machine and choose Machinetoken maken (Create machine token).
- Copy the token and the address. The token is shown only once.
- Give the token and address to the supplier of the machine, who sets up the connection on the machine side.
Nieuw machinetoken (New machine token) creates a new token; the old one then stops working. After Token intrekken (Revoke token) the machine can no longer report anything. A machine has no account of its own: reports are made in the name of whoever created the token. You need the permission to manage machines for the token.
What a report does
The machine reports one of four statuses per part or element, with the project number, the element number and optionally the position number, as in the BTLx export:
- Gezaagd (Cut): the beams are ticked off on the newest cutting list.
- Gespijkerd (Nailed): production of the element is started in the production planning.
- Gereed (Finished): the element is reported as finished. If there are still open quality points, the report fails: a machine never confirms those.
- Storing (Fault): the element is blocked with the reason for the fault.
Under Meldingen en koppeling (Reports and connection) you see when the machine last reported something and the result of each report, such as Verwerkt (Processed), Niet gevonden (Not found) or Mislukt (Failed).
Importing a machine log
If the machine cannot report by itself, use Machinelog importeren (Import machine log). Upload a CSV file with a header row (project, element, position, status, time, message) or an XML file, up to 5000 lines and 5 MB. Each line becomes a report, just like through the connection.