CIMCO has provided an early preview of the Planner module currently under development for CIMCO MDC-Max. Designed to support production planners, the module will enable the scheduling of work orders across machines through a timeline-based interface. Built on the same browser-based platform as the company’s data analysis dashboards, the Planner offers visibility into the scheduling of operations within each work order while maintaining a direct connection to the shop floor. CIMCO noted that the module remains in the early stages of development, and the examples shared are intended to illustrate its concept and direction.
CIMCO is targeting a release of the Planner module around September 2026, coinciding with IMTS 2026. The company noted that the current layout and functionality shown in preview images represent an early development version and are expected to undergo changes before the module’s initial release.
Planning and Shop Floor Data
A work order typically contains multiple operations. In the Planner, these operations are scheduled on the timeline and assigned to the machines that will perform them.
Operations can be dragged from an operation pool into the timeline and scheduled on specific machines. An operation can only be placed on machines that support the required work, helping prevent invalid planning and reducing the need for manual checks.
Operations can also be dragged directly in the timeline when priorities, capacity, or delivery dates change. This gives planners a more hands-on way to reschedule work, instead of making changes through forms or separate planning dialogs.
Dependencies between operations will be visible across machines. In the current development version, hovering over an operation shows arrows to related operations, making it clear what needs to be completed before the next operation can begin. The Planner is also expected to support advanced dependencies, where a later operation can start once a defined quantity of parts from a previous operation has been completed.
Built on MDC-Max
The Planner is being designed as an integrated part of CIMCO MDC-Max. For existing MDC-Max customers, it can easily be added to their current installation and use the machine data, shop floor data, and integrations that are already in place.
For new customers, the Planner can be installed with a lean MDC-Max setup underneath, allowing them to focus only on the planning part. If the need arises later, the installation can be expanded to take advantage of the full machine monitoring, data collection, and analysis capabilities available in MDC-Max.
Expected Functionality
- Schedule operations in a visual timeline
- Drag and drop operations from the operation pool into the plan
- Reschedule operations directly in the timeline
- Only schedule operations on supported machines
- Show dependencies between operations across machines
- Support advanced dependencies based on completed quantities
- Show live machine status from MDC-Max
- Configure shifts per machine
- View detailed work order and operation information
