Writing little apps/programs to make taks easier??

[smo]

We have a number of small, but time consuming tasks for which i'd like to write or have written some form of program (be it windows based, android or web based so we can run it on inter/intranet) to make these easier.

For example we have 16 needle (so 16 colour) embroidery machines, each design requires a different set of colours, but some will be the same as ones already loaded. What i'd like to do is tell the machine what colour is on what spool number and from there when we load a design we tell it what we need and it selects the spools to change for the optimum setup with the minimum of changes. Currently its entirely manual, which seems simple until you change 12 or more thread colours and then its a memory and guesswork game with a scrap of paper to remember which ones we needed to keep and which we can change.

So, is this sort of thing relatively simple??
How should we start with doing this, learn programming, if so what language??

 

[mit74]

Ideally you'd want a desktop based program (Windows if you have it) that can easy to use. I could do this in C# if you'd like. Send over a PM if you're interested.

 

[njoo]

You could also hire freelancers or go to sites like odesk.com where you can outsource many jobs like that or get certain tasks completed.

 

[garyk]

Do you control the machines via software?

If so you could look at something like macroscheduler which allows you to automate other programs. With a little learning curve you could use this to drive all sorts of automation.

Gary

 

[smo]

We do indeed control them by software however even though its really really clever and tracks just about every aspect of the machine it has no idea about thread colours, you have to tell it where you put each colour and when you change them.

Is a windows based program the best way then, wouldn't a little web based one be better as it could be accessed on any machine and hosted on either our intranet or on the internet?

 

[mit74]

We do indeed control them by software however even though its really really clever and tracks just about every aspect of the machine it has no idea about thread colours, you have to tell it where you put each colour and when you change them.

Is a windows based program the best way then, wouldn't a little web based one be better as it could be accessed on any machine and hosted on either our intranet or on the internet?

Yes online would be a better option if your connection is reliable although may cost more to develop.

 

[smo]

If we put it on our local server as its for in-house use only then connection wont be an issue

I strangely thought that developing such a thing in C# would be more expensive than php or similar web languages?

 

[carents]

If we put it on our local server as its for in-house use only then connection wont be an issue

I strangely thought that developing such a thing in C# would be more expensive than php or similar web languages?

If you already have your windows based server, then cost is not an issue. In case you want to run/test your code yourself, you can go for Express edition for Visual Studio.

 

[fisicx]

How do you currently tell he machines what colour is on what spool?

If you know where this information is stored then all you need is an interface where you can update.

So for example you have a screen that allows you to select the machine and from there a form where you can input the colours/threads and save.

As long as you know the names and format of the data fields then you can write the software in any language.

 

[mit74]

Visual Studio .NET (c#,vb) is really good for simple user interfaces and graphics and being a local executable you don't have the issues of user control, servers etc. not to mention work flow is faster on a strongly typed languauge such as C#. PHP requires use of CSS,HTML to create the user interface as well as a bit of Javascript possibly. As a programmer of both I'd probably charge double for a PHP version.

 

[smo]

How do you currently tell he machines what colour is on what spool?

If you know where this information is stored then all you need is an interface where you can update.

So for example you have a screen that allows you to select the machine and from there a form where you can input the colours/threads and save.

As long as you know the names and format of the data fields then you can write the software in any language.

When a design is loaded we go through the process of "coding" each step (colour change) telling it where the colour it needs is located on the machine. This could be different every time the design is embroidered depeding on what has been done previously and where/what threads are loaded at that time.

 

[Vennweb]

sounds fairly simple, it could also prioritise the designs for minimum numer of spool changes. I could write this as windows based progam or as web app. We have a number of examples of experiments we have done on our website.

 

[swells]

You could possibly use Excel (or whatever spreadsheet software you use) to answer you question and then print out the result to carry with you to the machines to refer to when setting them up (unless of course your computer is mobile - like a slate).

What you describe sounds like a straight forward algorith where you enter what colours and what spools you have now, enter what colours you need and the answer is 'calculated' and presented back to you.

The cost of having software developed may not be necessary when a good spreadsheet will do what you need.