CO-AM Key Concepts

This document explains the core concepts you need for daily operations in CO-AM

Parts, Platforms, and Builds

Part

A Part is a 3D file representing a single physical component you want to manufacture. When you upload a file to CO-AM, the system registers it as a Part, analyzes its geometry (volume, surface area, dimensions), and stores it with a full version history. Each new version is called a Part Revision.
Parts are the starting point of your manufacturing workflow. A Part must be placed on a Platform before it can be built.

Platform

A Platform is a named arrangement of one or more Parts within a machine's build volume. Think of it as the tray or build plate that goes into the printer. Placing multiple parts on a single platform maximizes machine utilization.
Like Parts, Platforms are versioned. Each time you change the arrangement, CO-AM creates a new Platform Revision.

Build

A Build is the instruction to manufacture a specific Platform Revision on a specific machine with a specific material. It is CO-AM's representation of a platform going to production on a machine.
A Build moves through the following lifecycle:

Created → Ready for Processing → Processing → Ready for Build Cycle → Uploading to Machine → On Machine → Building → Built
                                                                                                  └─ (or Canceled at any point before Building)

When a Build physically runs on a machine, CO-AM records a Build Cycle as the execution log. This log captures the start and end time, layer-by-layer progress, and the final result (Complete, Interrupted, or Failed).

Orders & Production

CO-AM separates the commercial intent (what a customer wants) from the physical manufacturing work (how it gets made).
From intake to production, the flow is:

Request  →  Sales Order  →  Production Order  →  Ordered Part(s)
(lines)       (lines)          (lines)           (one per line)

Request

A Request is originated by an internal or external requester asking to provide pricing and terms for specific products. It contains one or more lines representing a specific product. It originates in the Order Management module.

Sales Order

A Sales Order is the commercial agreement with a customer. It contains one or more lines, each representing a specific product, quantity, and delivery details. It originates in the Order Management module. It can be generated on its own or created from a Request.

Production Order

A Production Order is the internal manufacturing commitment, created from a Sales Order. Each Production Order Line specifies:

• A Product Definition (what to make and how)
• A quantity to produce
• A due date

A Production Order Line moves through these statuses:

Pending → Estimated → Approved → Started → Finished
     └─ (or Canceled / Rejected)

Estimation calculates lead time. Approval is the go/no-go gate before production begins.

Ordered Part

Once a Production Order Line is approved, CO-AM automatically creates one Ordered Part from it. An Ordered Part represents the need to produce a specific number of units of a given part by a given due date. It appears in the Work Preparation interface.

Note: If you use the Work Preparation module without the full MES order flow, you can create Ordered Parts manually using the + Ordered Part button.

From Ordered Part to Physical Parts

After Ordered Parts exist, they feed into Work Preparation — where you group parts onto Platforms, assign them to machines, and turn them into Builds. The Part Production Summary tracks how many units from each ordered part are: unplanned, assigned to a build, planned (scheduled) on a build, currently building, built, or in post-processing.

Scheduling vs. Planning

CO-AM supports two complementary ways of organizing work at different levels of detail.

Planning

Planning provides a workcenter-level, time-flexible view of upcoming work. It gives you a prioritized backlog of work items assigned to a workcenter. You know what needs to be done and in what order, but you are not committing to exact start and end times.
The following characteristics apply to Planning:

• Organized around Backlogs — named queues that belong to a workcenter.
• You can assign work items to a workstation and give them a rough time window, but the focus is priority, not timing.
• Suited for ongoing, flexible, or not-yet-scheduled work such as post-processing operations.

Scheduling

Scheduling provides a workstation-level, time-precise view. It answers: which operation, on which workstation, starting at what exact time?
This applies to the full manufacturing chain — not only printing. Printing workstations, sanding stations, assembly stations, and any other workstation type configured at your site can all be scheduled.
The following characteristics apply to Scheduling:

• You assign work items to specific workstations with a start and end time. They appear in the Production Scheduler timeline.
• Once scheduled, you open the corresponding batch in the execution pages to start and finish the work.

Machines, Workstations, and Workflows

Machines and Workstations

CO-AM distinguishes between the physical device and its role in manufacturing:

• A Machine (managed in Machine Management) is the physical printer, including its model, technology, usable build volume, supported materials, and OEM connectivity.
• Machines are synchronized into Workstations in Facility Management. A Workstation is the manufacturing execution identity of the machine: the entity that operations are assigned to, batches run on, and scheduling is planned against.
• Workstations can be grouped into Workcenters — logical groupings (for example, by technology or department) used for planning and capacity management.
• A Workstation Type defines the class of workstation (for example, "SLM Printer" or "Sand Blaster") and its Capabilities — the set of operations it can perform and how long those operations typically take.

Capabilities

Capabilities connect what an operation requires to what a workstation can do. The following elements make up this connection:

• Operation Definitions describe what step needs to be performed (for example, Sanding, Assembly, Printing).
• Workstation Types describe classes of workstations.
• Capabilities link Operation Definitions to Workstation Types, controlling where you can plan, schedule, and execute an operation.

Routing Definitions

A Routing Definition is the manufacturing workplan template — a directed graph of steps that a product must go through to be manufactured. Each step is a Routing Operation.

• A Routing Definition can include parameters — values that vary per product (for example, painting color or material) and flow through its operations.
• Operations can be scoped to different levels: an entire Build or an entire Production Order Line, depending on what the step applies to.

Operation Definitions

An Operation Definition is the reusable template for a single manufacturing step. It specifies the category (for example, printing, post-processing, or inspection), default duration, input/output parameters, and whether it is a printing operation, which connects it to the build preparation and scheduling flow.

Product Definitions

A Product Definition is the recipe for a specific product. It combines a Routing Definition with the exact parameter values needed to manufacture that product. When CO-AM creates a Production Order Line, it references a Product Definition to determine which workflow to follow and with what settings.

How a Physical Unit Gets Made

What You See

From your point of view, the flow goes from planning or scheduling to execution:

Work Item (Production Scheduler / Work Center view)  →  Batch (Production Execution)

The following steps can take place:

• In the Production Scheduler, you assign work items to workstations with start and end times.
• In the Work Center view, you assign work items to workstations without start and end times.
• In Production Execution, you open the corresponding batch to start work, record results, and finish the operation.
• You can report a Non-Conformance on any operation where the physical result did not meet expectations. This triggers a defined resolution: accept, rework, remake, or scrap.