FACTORYworks Meets the Full Range of Manufacturing Requirements
Today, manufacturers require factory automation systems that do more than track WIP and move material. The automation system must start and stop processing, monitor sorting operations, collect process data, change controllable variables, select recipes, and control dispatching.

FACTORYworks is the cornerstone of Brooks’ family of factory automation solutions to automate and control the flow of resources through the factory. An integrated suite of factory automation application modules, FACTORYworks allows manufacturers to configure their factory resources and process plans, track inventory and orders, collect and analyze production data, monitor equipment, dispatch work orders to manufacturing operators, and trace consumption of components into finished products. These modules provide tools to allow customers to define manufacturing workflow and extend and customize standard applications to meet site-specific needs.

BENEFITS:

FACTORYworks supports maximum reusability and extensibility.
Display integrated dynamic production schedules and real-time information to the operators.
Provide WIP inventory and stock locations inside the facility.
Track component, sub-lots, splitting and merging right out of the box.
Reduce misprocessing and keep workflow moving smoothly throughout the plant.
Reduce your downtime by reporting stoppages and reasons for machine downtime.

Configure the System for Your Manufacturing Workflow
Brooks factory automation solutions are configurable, extensible, and integrated. Brooks’ flexible, distributed manufacturing execution system framework can be configured to meet your site-specific requirements. FACTORYworks’ graphical configuration environment allows you to define your manufacturing workflow so your MES works the way your factory works. Using simple point-and-click operations, you can rapidly define and customize the data—process flows, site models, product and equipment types, data collection schemes and more—that drive run-time execution of your site’s manufacturing processes.

FACTORYworks provides graphical process planning tools that enable you to model your product routing quickly and easily. By providing step-by-step manufacturing instructions for equipment operators or external automation systems, the process plan defines exactly how each lot will progress through the factory, thereby reducing misprocessing and costly scrap.

System Scalability and Robustness
FACTORYworks provides greater robustness, allowing the entire system to better balance peaks in load. Multiple copies of the servers and clients can be started to meet the increased demand for production ramp-up and to allow for duplication in case of failover. Clients can communicate with any available application server; thus, a client is not tied to any given server. This architecture enables FACTORYworks to support a wide range of product types and lot starts, varying from R&D facilities to high-volume production sites.

System Architecture - Database
FACTORYworks supports standard Oracle platforms, allowing you to partition the database into multiple repositories to support increased data volume and transaction rates. FACTORYworks ships with a set of standard production reports that encompass a typical site’s requirements. FACTORYworks also includes an Historical Database archiving utility (HDB) that can be used to create a database for offline reporting. The FACTORYworks production and HDB schemas are open and documented so that reports can be generated by any application that supports Oracle.

System Architecture - Application Server
You can dynamically add or remove multiple copies of FACTORYworks servers and extension servers, accommodating system expansion or reduction.

Minor upgrades to servers can be achieved with zero downtime by starting new servers and then stopping the old servers. You can use the Configuration Client and Operator Interface to dynamically change application configuration, such as equipment definitions, process flows, and lot flow specifications, with no interruption to manufacturing. All servers and clients are immediately aware of changes through publication on the message bus. FACTORYworks server functionality can also be extended by writing or purchasing custom application servers.

System Architecture - Client
Many types of clients communicate with FACTORYworks, such as the Configuration Client, run-time Operator Interfaces, Maintenance Management, and Automation Cell controllers. FACTORYworks’ broadcasting technology allows any client to obtain relevant real-time information for display of lot lists, manipulation of equipment states, or intelligent dispatching decisions.

Any client may be scaled by starting more copies on new or existing client hardware. All of Brooks’ clients (FACTORYworks, STATIONworks, Xsite, etc.) use the same common components, making it easy to extend a standard client or create a new client with the same set of tools. These capabilities also provide any client with access to the FACTORYworks data repository.