System and method to improve manufacturing

Abstract

A system and related method for the rapid response to one or more product fabrication bid requests. The system includes a translation function for translating received product information into information suitable for a manufacturer to produce fabrication information. The system further includes a product fabrication function for generating product fabrication setup sheets and programming based on the translated product information. The system also includes a bid preparation function that produces bid information, such as pricing and scheduling, based on the generated product fabrication information. A process that had taken days to complete is finished in minutes. The related method includes the steps of querying a database of available manufacturers for their capability and available equipment to fabricate a desired product. The method also includes the steps of translating received product information into manufacturing information applicable to one or more identified manufacturers, generating product fabrication information specific to the one or more identified manufacturers, and producing responsive bid information based on the generated product fabrication information. A plurality of identified manufacturers may join together to use the system and method to respond to a bid request.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.