enduroframe

ENDUROHUB® Batching – Divide and Conquer!

ENDUROHUB® Batching - Divide and Conquer!

As manufacturing businesses grow, the cost savings that could be made by organizing manufacturing efforts grow. Methods that were once acceptable for smaller jobs become unmanageable in larger jobs (which are increasingly being undertaken by ENDUROFRAME licensees). This is where batching comes in.

One streamlining effort some licensees have chosen to pursue is to purchase additional rollforming equipment that is dedicated (for example) to truss components, and they also have corresponding downstream equipment such as truss fabrication tables.

This makes a lot of sense because the manufacturing cells can specialize in manufacturing trusses, and therefore truss fabrication itself becomes more efficient.

But in order for streamlining efforts such as this to turn into cost savings, a high level of organization is required to schedule production flows. Each manufacturing cell should be given what it needs in the optimal sequence and at the appropriate time, otherwise the potential efficiencies gained by specialized equipment can quickly erode away.

This is the fundamental purpose of Batching. It used to organize.

In the most simple terms, Batching is used to subdivide Orders into smaller “batches”, so that different parts of an Order can be manufactured:

  • On different machines,
  • At different times, or
  • In different sequences

It can also be used purely for organization purposes – e.g. some businesses prefer to divide an Order into Roof/Panel/Joist because it allows the scheduler to give simple verbal instructions to the Rollformer operator:

“Make the Roof now, we’ll do Panel and Joist tomorrow”

— scheduler

Without creating separate batches, the Rollformer operator has to make sense of this instruction from the schedule, and figure out which parts in a Cutting List should be rollformed and which should not.

What is a Batch?

A batch is a list of Parts. When an order is created, all parts are in a single “default” batch. But so as to better organize an Order you might choose to make additional batches and move Parts to them.

Each batch tell us:

  • Which parts are in the batch?
  • What sequence will parts within the batch be rollformed in?
  • On which Rollformer will those parts in the batch be made?

In the future, we may look at adding date/time scheduling to ENDUROHUB, so a batch would specify when parts would be made.

Common Uses

There are many scenarios where batching can be helpful. Some examples of where batching could be used:-

  1. You want to make all of the walls and floor joists for level 1 but not for level 2 as they do not need to be delivered until next week.
  2. You want to group all of the C90 1.0mm studs from a single job into a batch so they can be rollformed after another job that also has C90 1.0mm studs.
  3. You have several rollformers that are dedicated to manufacturing certain parts. For example; truss chords will be made on one machine, but webs will be made on another rollformer from longest to shortest.

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Version 11.01.21 Release Highlights

Version 11.01.21 Highlights

Performance

We are always looking for opportunities to speed up ENDUROCADD.

Here are three ways we have improved performance in this update:

We have reduced the number of times the job is saved during the Detail process.

The pdf export feature now excludes any items smaller than 0.5mm. If you usually have ‘wall components’ or dxfs shown in layouts you’ll notice a big improvement here.

We have also made a change to reduce the ImportV6.exe application’s CPU usage.

Job name length

New job names have always had a character limit of 12 characters. This is to avoid problems with printing on parts, HMI and ENDUROHUB compatibility. This character limit is now enforced in ENDUROCADD. If you try to open a job with a long name, a popup will prompt you to rename the job folder or zip file to a shorter name first. The easiest way to do this is via the job manager. Right-click on the job and select Rename.

Job manager can shorten file names

Sketchfab

Due to the increasing usage of Sketchfab by licensees we have now automated the process to output files from the ENDUROCADD® software directly into Sketchfab. The output file is optimised for Sketchfab, and automatically uploaded into Sketchfab.

Notification Board

To make it quicker to navigate to design manuals, we have added a new tab to the notification board. All of the relevant design manuals are now available in the Notification board so with a single click you can go to the relevant manual.

Levels Improvements

Copy Level to RL

The first stage of the Copy Level enhancement is complete. See EE-61 Copy Level, Walls, Openings, and Floor Properties . Speed up detailing of multi-level jobs with identical walls by using this feature to copy walls, panels and floor blocks to a new level at a set height.

Mirror progress

Gable ladders and panels now mirror with a job (mirror about an edge). Mirroring truss restraints, outriggers and ceiling bracing with a job is still in progress.

Walls New Features

Openings

‘Head height’ is renamed to ‘Stud opening head height’ in the Opening properties window.

Service holes

If you space Service Holes 150mm apart, the PSH (pair of service holes) NC data code is used instead of two SH codes. This works both for service holes added via the Wall editor or built using Wall detailing options.

Front/back studs

F and B indicators show which way studs flipped to front/back are facing in the Wall Editor and in Wall fabrication sheets.

 

Auto tiedowns in wall editor

There are a number of improvements to tiedowns in the wall editor which add more functionality to Auto tiedowns after the wall is built.

Tiedown type (anchor bolts etc):

  • Add or change tiedown type parts via the stud or stud tiedown right-click menu.

  • Tiedown type parts are deleted when their parent tiedown is deleted.

  • Tiedown type parts are flipped when their parent tiedown is flipped.

  • Tiedown types parts now move when their parent studs are moved.

Bracing stud tiedowns:

  • Bracing stud auto tiedowns are built when bracing is added. This works for all bracing – strap bracing, K bracing and panel bracing.

  • Jamb stud tiedowns are no longer superseded by bracing stud tiedowns when bracing is attached to jamb studs.

If you’ve been hesitating to use Auto tiedown configurations in you’re detailing process, now is a great time to start!

Refresh your memory at this page, Specifying auto tiedown configurations

Webbed walls

All diagonal members in Webbed walls are now the same length.

Webbed walls recognise Roof void blocks, ceiling blocks, and beams/walls as void blocks, although you might want to tweak by adding diagonal studs or removing additional vertical studs.

Panels

When you change a panel’s detailing option, it will now rebuild immediately.

Previously used panel detailing options are used by default when inserting new panels.

When adding a panel to a plane, there is a prompt to select whether to build the panel above or below the selected plane.

Floors New Features

Deflection Checks

There has been a change in floor joist deflection checks which have been brought in line with the NASH standard requirements and are slightly less stringent which, in turn, will improve spans of some floor joist configurations.

Loads of balcony zones also appear on the User Load Layouts floor certification sheets along with other user applied loads.

For a full list of release notes go to the ENDUROCADD Help System.

New Installation Details

Type 2 Hip End Installation Detail available for download

Find out more about the benefits of the ENDUROCADD® software

The ENDUROCADD® software is rich in features to automate the design of light gauge steel buildings.

Find out more

ENDUROGRIP Truss and Rafter Tiedowns

ENDUROGRIP Truss and Rafter Tiedowns

The ENDUROGRIP bracket was developed in response to customer feedback to develop a bracket that was easy to locate on both trusses and rafters. In addition, they sit exactly where they are supposed to on wall frames.
 
This removes all guessing and provides many benefits including knowing where the bracket goes relative to stiffening screws. Speed up fabrication and installation times using this easy-to-implement bracket.

Find out more about the benefits of building with the ENDUROFRAME® Building System

Find out why more builders are using the ENDUROFRAME® building system.

Find out more

Reduce ENDUROTRUSS® Roof Truss Costs

Reduce Truss Costs with ENDUROCADD® Truss Statistics

Many framing licensees are looking for a way to reduce their roof truss costs. The ENDUROFRAME® system has many ways to reduce the cost of roof trusses which we talk about here.

We have been really pleased to see the uptake of this function since it was released. In case you missed it, I am pleased to provide the details again. 

 
There are many ways a detailer can reduce the cost of a truss: adjust the number of webs, change the truss spacing, to name a few. Even adjusting the truss gauge can make a big difference. Sometimes increasing the truss gauge can reduce the cost because it reduces the number of screws and amount of boxing. Getting the selections right can reduce the manufactured costs of some trusses by up to 50%.
 
There is no ‘one size fits all solution’ as material, labour, and accessory costs vary depending on where in the world a fabricator is located.
 
The ENDUROCADD® software includes a new feature to see what the cost of each truss is, and how it changes with each edit. Users can insert their own material and fabrication labour costs to see what truss configuration provides the lowest cost when editing the truss.
 
The weight and cost of a truss is shown in the web editor menu and is updated with each design iteration so it is possible to see if changes increase or decrease the truss cost.
 
In addition to material costs which are entered in the Partdatauser spreadsheet, rollforming and fabrication labour costs can be included in the Fabrication window. You can get a good indication of which truss configurations optimise costs based on your own specific input costs.

Find out more about the ENDUROCADD® software at this link.

Watch the video below for more information on how to reduce truss costs.

Find out more about the benefits of the ENDUROCADD® software

The ENDUROCADD® software is rich in features to automate the design of light gauge steel buildings.

Find out more

Steel Trusses the Crown on Timber Frames

ENDUROTRUSS Steel Trusses the Crown on Timber Frames

When the challenge to design a very slender truss to come in under the building height limit without imposing too much on ceiling height, the answer was to go steel!
 
Originally specified as an all timber construction, the trusses just would not work. The ever helpful Simon Steer of Steer Manufacturing came to the rescue and provided steel trusses incorporating box gutters.
 
Trusses were supplied in a knock down form for easy assembly on site, saving on freight compared to delivering pre-assembled trusses. Freight costs were also saved as long length members were shortened and spliced on site.
 
Fabricators can easily assemble the ENDUROTRUSS steel trusses on site. Fabrication drawings are clear and easy to follow. Locating holes mean trusses can only be assembled in one way. The number of screws between chords and webs are inkjet marked on truss webs. Also, short parts can be linked together in truss lots so they are easy to find, a feature that is unique to ENDUROTRUSS.
 
Both the owner and builder were delighted with the result and commented on how light and easy they were to work with.
 
Contact Steer Manufacturing in Melbourne on (03) 9357 9800 www.steeraust.com.au to find how they can provide innovative solutions for your project, from a tiny house to a large commercial project.

Find out more about the benefits of building with the ENDUROFRAME® Building System

Find out why more builders are using the ENDUROFRAME® building system.

Find out more

ENDUROCADD® Software Links with Spanman.net

ENDUROCADD® Software Links with Spanman.net

ENDUROFRAME® has a proud history of providing extensive engineering support to its clients, and we have continued this tradition by linking the ENDUROCADD® software with the Spanman.net engineering tool.

Everyone in this trade knows you need to start with a solid foundation, and there is no better foundation for designing steel-framed structures than the ENDUROCADD® software. This is the only steel framing software package that has been independently certified to comply with the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) Protocol for Structural Software Version 2011.1. It is capable of not only generating highly-accurate 3D models of the ENDUROFRAME® system, but also providing comprehensive engineering computations for roof and floor trusses, wall bracing, and dozens of connection options.

The ENDUROCADD® software ensures you can optimise designs that have either been tested or signed off on by a registered engineer.

Backing up this outstanding software application are the ENDUROFRAME® design manuals, which provide extensive certified design solutions for walls, headers, rafters, beams, bracing, tie-downs, and connections.

Now designing structural components using the ENDUROCADD® software has become even easier through an integration with the leading online structural design portal, Spanman.net. See Spanman.

Spanman.net provides detailed calculations any engineer can check for a huge range of steel and timber structural items that can be incorporated into the ENDUROFRAME® building system. These include rafters, purlins, roof and floor beams, lintels, and floor joists. Sections are optimised based on user preferences using state-of-the-art engineering analysis. Calculations and certifications can be quickly generated for a range of building types including residential houses, schools, hospitals and offices.

Additionally, Spanman.net can perform custom load calculations for single or boxed ENDUROFRAME® sections. These sections while can then be selected and then modelled using the ENDUROCADD® software.

Special Offer

ENDUROCADD® software licensees also enjoy a discount of $145 per annum of the regular Spanman.net license fee. To get a discount token, contact the ENDUROFRAME® team via the help desk. See Request Spanman discount.

Find out more about the benefits of the ENDUROCADD® software

The ENDUROCADD® software is rich in features to automate the design of light gauge steel buildings.

Find out more

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