A Sneak Peek into IQMS’ Upcoming Applications: The Exciting Finale

IQMS new development part 3 of 3In part three of the Automation Group development projects blog series (check out parts one and two here), IQMS has even more exciting projects in the works that I can’t wait to tell you about. I promise not to do a part four anytime soon and start using better blog titles, but every good series must have three parts, right?

To conclude this three-part series, I’d like to share a couple of previews that the IQMS Automation Group has been working on. IQMS is always developing new ways to make your day-to-day easier and more efficient. One of many ways we’re doing this is through a well-known CAD application called SolidWorks. In collaboration with SolidWorks, IQMS is bringing manufacturing ERP software and 3D design to the next level through direct software integration.

The SolidWorks application offers powerful capabilities from creating documents that contain 3D drawings of parts to powerful simulation and stress testing of the 3D parts. Whether you’re drawing the dimensions of your next tooling project to ensure all the parts and valves meet your client’s expectations or building a complex assembly for a new product to ensure the mechanics of it will work together, SolidWorks has been a tool of choice for manufacturers for many years.

Traditionally, the bridge between an engineering application and the ERP system is a long and bumpy ride that often requires re-keyed data entry of the engineering specifications into the ERP system. Naming between parts and/or assemblies between the two disconnected systems typically leaves the ERP user in limbo when matching assemblies to Bills of Materials (BOMs), parts to inventory items or design changes to revisions. This often leaves production managers out in the cold when their last run didn’t meet engineering specs due to a data entry error.

Very soon, IQMS will eliminate these challenges with full ERP integration into the SolidWorks user interface, allowing you seamless data entry between a single connected system. The ability to create new SolidWorks parts and instantly save the item into your ERP inventory master, tooling master or export a drawing into document control will soon be here, delivering productivity savings and data error reduction that can be quickly realized. Additionally, users will be able to easily jump between the two systems as if they’re working within a single application with IQMS’ unique “jump to” functionality built into menus, tool bars and right clicks throughout the SolidWorks application.

As an added bonus, users will be able to quickly open SolidWorks documents from document control and link SolidWorks files with their corresponding parts directly in the ERP system without leaving the SolidWorks application. Users will be able to perform quick, complex searches by item, BOM, customer, vendor and tool name in order to locate the respective SolidWorks documents associated to the entity.

IQMS is also working on improving the interface for our RTStation applications (For those of you who have not heard about the RTStation, please stop reading this and send a PO to IQMS right now because whether you have an RTStation, Android tablet or Android smartphone, the user experience and ease of use of our new mobile applications is really something you should see firsthand).

Soon you’ll be able to configure all RTStation applications for all your RTStation devices straight from the Data Dictionary Application Manager utility! This is exciting because it allows you to set up your web server once and then easily push settings to multiple devices without typing URLs, without having to pick up the actual device and without even having to be in the office.

Additionally in the Application Manager, we’re adding the ability to define your own web-based applications and push those out to your RTStation devices. This means you can easily set up your internal websites, portals, etc. in the Application Manager utility and deploy it to all your devices at once. Best of all, these user-defined, web-based applications are not licensed apps, so you define as many of them as you want and deploy them to all your devices!

Even though this blog series is ending, don’t worry – Automation Group development never stops. We will continue to mention the new and exciting products coming out of our team in future blog posts. Stay tuned!

Jason Slater, IQMS Vice President of Development, oversees IQMS' award-winning development team responsible for the design of emerging technologies for the shop floor. Jason holds a bachelor of science degree from California Polytechnic State University.