This setup has been excellent in making visible what was otherwise been swept under the carpet in multiple individually owned excel spreadsheets.
It has made the macro view of what is going on throughout the company, as well as where each job is allocated, much easier to know and manage.
Appended below is all you need to set up this system for yourself.
*** SOFTWARE ***
- Software
- Mingle
- Context
- Designed by a company called ThoughtWorks, Mingle itself was not written specifically for manufacturing. I researched countless software tools on the internet and eventually settled on Mingle being the most flexible and powerful - yet simple. With a bit of imagination (and a good amount of iterative trial and error) we tailored it to suit the way we work. Our setup of Mingle was a process of iterative discovery making Mingle mould to the way we work rather than the other way around. I am currently in correspondence with ThoughtWorks after they discovered how Mingle is getting used in manufacturing. Mingle runs on one computer ("server") and is accessible from as many other network computers as you wish. The trial version comes with up to 5 user accounts. For us we have "allan", "reception", "yvonne", "topsolid user", and "workshop user" setup. Sometimes we use the same login name on two different computers at the same time. I have yet to have any problems with this.
- Cost
- For the first year the software is free. You are limited to 5 user accounts. You can request a quote directly from the website now.
- The Most Difficult Part
- Being patient with how your setup of mingle evolves to suit your processes. You never get it right the first time. And the big trap is getting bogged down in trying to satisfy all scenarios at once instead of just concentrating on "most cases".
- Software Support
The help files are extremely well written and layed out. The support desk is excellent. Most of my questions have been answered in a couple of hours. It is mostly the person who is seting up mingle that will use these resources. As a standard user, you will not need to read help files.
*** TOUCH SCREEN ***
- Board Model in photo
- TS-65 A
- Purchase Cost
- $4,900USD (I negotiated this price slightly down from the original offered price)
- Airfreight Cost
- R20,000 from China to South Africa (shipping was much cheaper but we were too excited to wait)
- Note
- There is a computer installed within the screen itself. *Insist* on windows 7 being installed in English before the item is shipped. At the time of our purchase the computer within the screen was only compatible with Windows 7 32-bit. If I were to purchase a board again I would insist that they install a 64 bit computer with Windows 7. I had quite a few days of frustration in getting windows 7 (english) installed along with downloading and installing all the required drivers. (the person in your IT department would be a good person to speak to about this.. here at S&D we use Windows 7 Professional )
- Contact
- Kathy Chen Email: kathy@cnintech.com (Skype: cnintech4)... Kathy will understand your need for windows 7 (english) to ship already installed. She helped me with all my headaches in not having this.
