How OpifexHQ works

Weldments too

A beam frame imports directly: its cut list becomes the part list, and identical beams merge into one row × quantity.

When the design changes

You simply re-read the file. Existing parts keep their place in production, their cost and their exports; new ones are added; changed ones get an orange “check before you continue” flag. Nothing starts over, and nothing changes silently.

One part in many places

A bracket used in three places on the machine shows once, “×3 places”, with the total quantity — and one click takes you to each place.

A new version of the machine

A copy of the job with new file names that shares stock and documents with the original. Before you make it you see what carries over from the old one — flow, codes, instructions.

The formats

DXF (sheet-metal flat patterns), PDF (drawings), STEP (3D) and Weldment (cut list) — pick one or more and OpifexHQ runs them all, retrying any that failed.

Smart file names

The DXF file name carries the material, quantity and thickness — the laser operator sees “what, how many, what thickness” without opening the file.

Satin finish

For parts with a satin face, the flat pattern is oriented so the finished side faces up — so the press brake doesn’t press on it while bending.

Where the cost comes from

• Labour — €/hour per station.
• Materials — at the latest price from Stock.
• Sheet metal by the sheet — the slice of the sheet the part actually uses, not by weight.
• Purchased parts — at the buy price.
• Design time — measured per assembly, or the hours the designer declares, times their €/hour.

For N machines

Production is multiplied by N; design is counted once, because the engineering is done once.

The quote

Margin per category (e.g. labour +40 %, materials +15 % — you set your own), discount, VAT, validity, terms. Sending it “freezes” it: you always know what you promised to whom, and what cost stood behind it. The PDF comes out in the customer’s language. Once accepted, the price moves into the order.

A quote before there is an order

The customer wants a price for something not ordered yet? Quote straight from the assembly — the order opens on its own as “Quote”, and if you lose it, it is cancelled without leaving clutter behind.

Estimate vs actual

At the end you see whether the job came out as you costed it — with times measured inside your working hours, not the weekend a part sat parked.

One flow for many at once

Ctrl- or Shift-click the parts → right-click → “Common flow”. For the whole job: “Bulk flow” — one flow on everything.

Move with one click

Click a station on the part’s row and the part goes there. Everyone sees it at once.

A bought part with a flow

A bought part that still needs work (e.g. welding) keeps its flow too: it starts at the first station as soon as you receive it.

From the web

The production lead sets or corrects flows from the browser as well, without the app.

Why this proposal

Every part says “Sheet metal → Laser · Bends → Press brake”: you know why it was proposed before you accept it.

Your own flow wins

If you set a flow by hand — because the holes are cut on the laser, not drilled — it is left alone. You see it, quietly, under “With flow”.

Started stays started

A part already in production doesn’t change route halfway; it shows as locked.

From the CAD itself

Sheet metal, bends, weldment, turning, threads, holes — whatever OpifexHQ finds in the design at import.

How parts move

Drag, the “Advance” button or a QR scan — all pieces together or just some. Scrap for damaged pieces, Rework for those going back.

Bottlenecks

A part that sits at a station longer than the hour limit you set turns red — stuck work shows without hunting for it.

Convergence

Parts that must all reach a station together (e.g. the plates of a frame at welding) wait for each other and continue as one. Click the convergence badge to see the whole set — what has arrived, what is missing.

Where is a part?

Type its code in the search: which job it is in, at which station, and “In the flow ↗” takes you to its row.

QR scan

Scan the part and it moves to the next station in its own flow. Zero training.

Work instructions

Whatever the designer wrote for the part shows up where it is being made — and isn’t lost when the design is re-read.

“Problem”

The categories are yours, per station (e.g. “wrong drawing”, “material missing”, “machine down”). Whoever reports it picks who should know — nobody is added automatically. They all hear when it is seen, resolved or reopened. A report never blocks production.

The part’s timeline

One list: where it went, when, who moved it, what was noted, what problem was reported and how it was resolved.

The balance

One clean number per code. When it doesn’t cover demand, the item is flagged “Shortage”.

Raw material from bar

A shaft from a Ø40 bar, 300 long: you declare what it’s cut from and it is reserved in the warehouse. The pieces of every job share the same bars — you know how many to buy, and any offcut worth keeping stays for next time.

Purchasing

Shortages are gathered per supplier into one order, with a PDF. OpifexHQ remembers what you paid and how late each supplier was — next time it suggests when the order will arrive.

Ordered for a job, kept for that job

Whatever you order for a job is held for it when it arrives — the first job to ask for it doesn’t take it.

Suppliers

Tax ID, address, contact — printed on the purchase-order PDF. For each one you see what you bought and how many days they usually take.

The warehouse

Shelf location, usual supplier and their code, pack size. Stocktake: count the shelves and correct the books in one move.

How many sheets to buy

From the DXFs you already exported, instantly: how many sheets, the layout per sheet, what offcut is left — and offcuts go into their own store for the next job.

Expected delivery per order

On track, at risk or late — and which station is the bottleneck holding it back.

Waiting on material?

If a purchased part arrives on the 12th, the date won’t come out earlier — and it tells you why.

An honest number

Where there are no measurements yet, it doesn’t invent a date; it tells you it doesn’t know.

The whole shop at a glance

The home board with a map of your floor, load per station, weekly throughput and whatever is blocked by material.