How to Set a Default Setup Time for a Work Center in EDGEBIC

To set a default setup time for a work center in EDGEBIC by User Solutions, enter the changeover time in hours in the work center's Setup Time field. New routing steps on that machine inherit the value, and the scheduler falls back to it whenever no more specific setup time applies to a step.

The default is the floor of a four-rung ladder, not the whole story of setup time. It is the right tool for a steady, always-applies changeover, and the wrong one for changeovers that depend on what ran before. This page covers the default and where it sits. For sequence-dependent changeovers, read how to build a setup matrix.

Before You Start

• The work center already exists (how to add a work center).
• You know the typical changeover for the machine, as a flat average in hours.
• You understand this is a baseline. If setup depends on the product sequence, a matrix will serve better than a flat number.

Step 1: Open the Work Center for Editing

Open the Workcenter tab. On the Work Center Management grid, click ✏️ Edit on the machine's row. The Work Center Configuration dialog opens on the Basic Information tab.

Step 2: Enter the Setup Time

In the Setup Time (hrs) field, enter the changeover time in hours. A 30-minute setup is 0.5; a 20-minute setup is roughly 0.33. This is the flat default the machine applies.

Step 3: Save

Click Save. New routing steps created on this machine will inherit the value.

Where the Default Sits in the Ladder

At scheduling time, EDGEBIC finds a step's setup time by walking a fixed order and taking the first value it finds:

The work center default is the last resort. Any setup time on the step, and any matrix entry, wins over it. That is why a step can show a different setup time than the machine default without anything being wrong.

A Worked Example

A press has a default setup time of 0.33 hours, a steady 20-minute changeover. A new routing step created on the press inherits that 0.33. When a job runs the step, the operation's total time is the run time plus the inherited setup: a 6-hour run becomes 6.33 hours on the schedule, and that setup portion is protected so the plan does not promise the press back to back with no changeover.

Later the shop realizes that changing from a heavy die to a light one on the same press actually takes an hour, while like-to-like changes take almost nothing. That is a sequence-dependent pattern the flat 0.33 cannot capture: it over-promises the hard changes and pads the easy ones. The fix is not a bigger default, it is a setup matrix that says one number for the heavy-to-light pair and another for like-to-like, with the 0.33 default still sitting underneath as the catch-all for any pair the matrix does not name.

What Changes When You Save

How to Check It Worked

1. Create a new routing step on the machine and confirm it picks up the default setup time.
2. Schedule a job that uses the step and check that setup is included in the operation's time.
3. If a step shows a different setup time, walk the ladder: check the step's own value and any matrix entry before assuming the default failed.

Common Mistakes

Using a flat default for sequence-dependent changeovers. If setup depends on what ran before, such as paint colors or alloys, a single number over-promises the easy changes and under-promises the hard ones. Use a setup matrix for those machines.

Expecting the default to override existing steps. It is inherited by new steps only. Existing steps keep their own values.

Assuming the default always wins. It is the last resort. A step-level setup time or a matrix entry takes priority, by design.

Entering minutes instead of hours. The field is in hours. A 30-minute setup is 0.5, not 30.

Next

A default setup time gives a machine a sensible changeover baseline so you are not typing the same number onto every routing step. Layer a setup matrix on top where changeovers depend on sequence, and keep an eye on the work center configuration mistakes that setup values commonly cause. More single-task recipes are in the EDGEBIC how-to hub, and the platform overview is at /edgebic.