AMS Controls offers Pathfinder Edge, a Web-based trim profile design and management application.
Pathfinder Edge can be accessed from anywhere users have an Internet connection. This level of accessibility means that customer support representatives (CSRs) in an office - or even salespeople in the field - can create a profile and send it to a machine, eliminating the need for the operator to enter the profile (and potentially make a mistake).
Pathfinder Edge subscribers are provided their own website address, much like most software as a service (SAAS) set-ups. Through this unique address, subscribers access Pathfinder Edge with a secure login.
Once logged in, users can create profiles with the Web-based software and access libraries of profiles via standard browsing and searching techniques. Profiles are immediately available at a Pathfinder-controlled folding machine for production.
"Since Pathfinder Edge includes Pathfinder's auto-sequencing technology, which determines if profile production is possible without using up valuable material for trial and error, production costs are essentially the same for both standard and custom profiles, but users can still charge a custom premium," said a company spokesperson. "This allows Pathfinder Edge subscribers to earn greater profits on custom jobs, and it also opens the door to more challenging custom jobs with almost no financial risk."
The profile design function of Pathfinder Edge has the same feature-rich technology found in Pathfinder that allows users to design profiles within the Web interface. These features include:
- Profile Sketching - Intuitive "sketching" allows users to orient profiles in any direction, making them just like a written sketch. Regular input devices (mouse/trackpad) as well as touchscreen devices are supported.
- Test for Manufacturability - Pathfinder Edge knows the geometry of the folding machine with which it is linked, and it will alert the user if the part cannot be made on a specific machine. This feature saves time, effort and scrap by getting a warning early in the process.
"Pathfinder Edge lets users design profiles even when they are not in front of a machine and allows operators to focus on what they do best - making parts," said the spokesperson.
Pathfinder Edge is available as a subscription only. According to the spokesperson, this model has several benefits:
- Local servers, equipment and hosting are not needed
- When upgrades are deployed, all subscribers automatically get them - no charging for the next best version
- All technical support is centralized at AMS Controls' St. Louis headquarters
- Subscribers do not have to pay a large upfront cost; they pay for what they use, as they go.
For more information contact:
AMS Controls
12180 Prichard Farm Rd.
Maryland Heights, MO 63043
800-334-5213 / 314-344-3144
sales@amscontrols.com
www.amscontrols.com