Why or when would I use machine constraints?

By specifying that only certain machines are to be used for producing certain products you can prevent erroneous job assignment/activation.

(You might also have a preference motivation, for example you might want to use a slower machine for producing a simple product that can be manufactured quickly or vice versa.)

Setting constraints is one of the many automations offered by Matics.

Machine constraints can be set both for products and molds. This means that if a product makes use of a mold, and that mold also has machine constraints, ALL machine constraints need to be met for saving the job and activating it.

Setting constraints at the product level

When the machine constraints list is empty it means there are no machine constraints, and jobs for the product can be activated and run on any machine*.

If a machine or multiple machines have been added to the machine constraints list, jobs for this product can be activated and run only on the machines in this list*.

Open the product form.
In this procedure we'll do so from Production > Products > and clicking the index of the target product.
Click Machine Constraints.
Click + Add in the top left menu.
In the line added to the product's machine constraints table, in the active Machine cell click:
In the Machines pop-up window, select the check boxes of the machine(s) that this product can be/should be manufactured on (multiple selection is possible) and click Apply.
The Priority setting is informative only. It serves as a note/comment to anybody accessing this tab. You can optionally indicate the priority logic in ascending numbers if multiple machines were selected in the previous step.
Click Save changes.

Setting constraints at the mold level

When the machine constraints list is empty it means there are no machine constraints set for this mold, and jobs using this mold can be activated and run on any machine*.

If a machine or multiple machines have been added to the machine constraints list, jobs using this mold can be activated and run only on the machines in this list*.

Open the mold form.
In this procedure we'll do so from Resources > Molds > and clicking the index of the target mold.
Click Machine Constraints.
Click + Add in the top left menu.
In the line added to the mold's machine constraints table, in the active Machine cell click:
In the Machines pop-up window, select the check boxes of the machine(s) that this mold can be/should be used on (multiple selection is possible) and click Apply.
Click Save changes.

Constraints in action

From the user perspective, constraints kick into action when saving / activating a job for a product with set constraints. If the machine selected for the job is not the one of the machines added to the product (and/or mold) machine constraints list, the job will not be activated or saved.

For example:

Removing machine constraints

In the machine constraints tab (Product/Mold) click the check box to select the row of the target machine constraint.
TIP: You can select all or select specific multiple check boxes to remove machine constraints in a bulk operation.
Click the Delete control.
Click Save changes.

NOTE

Make sure to apply machine constraints only to machines of the machine type set at the product / mold level.

Automation through Rules