Enfocus Switch

M-Power can be used as an input to Enfocus Switch, providing job meta-data and when coupled with our client portal, client uploaded files for processing within Switch Flows.

Meta-data and optionally client files are transfered to the computer running Switch using our M-Power Agent App. The App supports both Windows and MacOS. The app will poll for new Job Data from M-Power on a prededfined schedule and create per job line JSON or XML formatted meta-data files that Switch can process to augment prepress operations.

The contents of each meta-data file are generated from the job details, related customer, job line information and the contents of the related recipe including specifications. 

Specifications tend to form the main element of 'gates' within Switch flows. That is, where decisions are made based on substrate, processing methods etc. For this reason, we recommend that on new installs, you first bed in your core M-Power recipes in conjunction with our onboarding team so that you have a stable dataset on which to base your Switch Flows and their required decision points.

Getting Started

As every businesses operations may differ, we take each Switch integration individually and assess if/how we can provide the information you require. Please contact our sales team to begin the conversation.

What do I need to get started

• What elements of your recipes are important for routing jobs in Switch, e.g. Substrate, Cutting Methods, Machinery or Process choices? We need to know these element so we can tailor the dataset. Getting the dataset correct is the first step in the journey. Sometimes this requires changes to your Recipe Wizards to add/alter questions to ensure that data is captured as required.
• When thinking about the dataset, consider what elements of a job may require it to take a different path in the switch flow, or be processed by a different flow all together.
• Let is know the OS (Windows or MacOS) so we can prepare an app installer. Once the dataset is ready we can shedule for one of our team to connect with you and remotely install the agent app on your system. We recommend that the agent is run on the same machine as Switch. There must be jobs running through the system for the agent to have anything to process.
• Consider which products you want processed by switch, or which should be excluded. In most cases not all jobs are suited to processing by automation.
• We normally configure the agent to only retrieve 'released' jobs so that we can be confident that at the time of retireval the information is complete and correct. In some cases systems are configure to auto-release. If so you may want to consider if a time delay from creation is a good fit to ensure and last minute changes are completed for retrieval.
• Consider where in your filesystem you want the agent to create the json/xml files. We need to configure the agent with this folder path.
• Consider how you will reference client supplied files. If you are not using the M-Power portal, you may have to include a filename/file path prompt in the recipe wizard to users can input where they have saved client supplied/generated production files related to a given job line.

What stages are there in the implementation

• Stage One - Get all recipes completed and ensure they are being used in jobs. This is where the Agent App will retrieve them from.
• Stage Two - Dataset Creation and Refining. We will work with you to refine the dataset from your recipes and provide exported spreadsheets of each iteration so you can ensure that your recipes are providing all of the required information for your flows and that is it labeled and formatted as you require.
• Stage Three - Agent App Installation and configuration. Once configured, the agent will start checking for and writing job line files. To get up and running we normally set the agent to download all available job lines each time it runs to allow you to reprocess files until any anologies are handled and your Switch Flow error rates are managable. The amount of time this stage takes is dependant on the scope of your switch flows, often with complex flows this can take weeks to fully refine.
• Stage Four - Switch the Agent to only process new job lines. After each jobline is processed and the meta-data file is written to your file system, the agent will tell M-Power Cloud that this line does not need processing again. 

The Agent App

The agent app is an Electron based tray app with its own internal scheduler. The app uses the schedule to periodically (default every 10mins) with M-Power Cloud and retrieve any new orders that are ready for processing. 

Our team will install the agent remotley using our report support tools and get it connected to both your M-Power dataset and optionally client portal file locations.

App Settings

M-Power staff will assist you in configuring the app sync interval, file format and output file path. In addition we can customise which jobs/joblines are made available to the app so you can have only a subset of your production which is processed by Switch.

Meta-Data File Information

While the specific meta-data for your use case may differ, please find below an example dataset. This is logcally devided into groups as follows:

1. Job level information
2. Job Line level information
3. Recipe Specification level information - note that these fields are dynamic and depend completley on your recipe and related wizard configuration. This allow for maximum flexibilty across any products you manufacture.