Production scheduling for CNC machining & job shops
Machine shop production scheduling software
SkyPlanner APS turns your orders, routings, CNC machines, materials and shifts into one finite-capacity schedule. It groups jobs that share a setup, plans outside processing as part of the routing and rebuilds the plan in seconds when a machine stops, bar stock is late or a customer pulls an order forward. It integrates with any ERP or MES through its open REST API.
- Setup-aware sequencing
- Finite-capacity scheduling
- Any ERP or MES via REST API
- From 199 € / month
98%
on-time delivery at best, up from around 50%, KJH-Comp
2 → 1
supervisors needed for scheduling, KJH-Comp
99.2%
delivery reliability this year, Piristeel
Since 2021
scheduling dozens of CNC lathes and machining centres, Eskomatic
Results reported by SkyPlanner customers Eskomatic (contract machining), KJH-Comp (sheet-metal contract manufacturing) and Piristeel. Read all SkyPlanner APS reviews
Why a machine shop is hard to schedule
High mix, low volume, every routing different
A job shop runs hundreds of different parts through the same lathes and mills, each with its own routing, setup and material. The order of those jobs decides how much of the day the spindles spend cutting and how much they spend waiting for a setup.
Setups eat machine time
Changing jaws, fixtures, tools or bar diameter takes time with no chips made. Running the same part family back to back can cut that time to almost nothing.
Priorities change every day
A customer pulls an order forward, a machine needs repair or a part fails inspection, and the plan for every machine has to follow.
Material decides the start
A job cannot start before the bar stock, castings or purchased parts are in the shop. A shortage found on the day of the job means an idle machine.
Outside processing breaks the flow
Heat treatment, plating, coating or grinding at a subcontractor adds days between operations, and the next machining step has to wait for the parts to come back.
Customers want a date with the quote
When a buyer asks for 200 shafts by the end of the month, the answer should come from the load on your machines, not from a guess.
Spreadsheets cannot see spindle load
A spreadsheet or ERP job list plans every machine as if it were free, ignores which part ran before and turns one moved job into hours of rework.
SkyPlanner schedules a job shop the way a good foreman would, only faster. Every lathe and mill is loaded to its real capacity, jobs that share a setup run together and the whole shop is replanned in seconds when a machine stops.
Setup-aware sequencing for CNC machines
Run the same setup together. Spend spindle time cutting.
Every setup is paid machine time with no parts produced. SkyPlanner sequences each lathe and machining centre so setups cost as little time as possible, without missing due dates.
Material, bar diameter, fixture: you set the rules
Give products properties such as material, bar diameter, fixture or part family, and define a changeover matrix for each machine: how long it takes to move from one value to another, in each direction.
Each job on the right machine
Tell SkyPlanner which machines can run an operation, and the AI scheduling engine can move a job to the more suitable lathe or mill when the first choice is busy or down.
Setups planned, not discovered
Setting times are part of every process step, and the scheduler groups similar jobs to minimise total setup time. On the Gantt timeline you see the job order on every machine, with setting time included in each job.
How SkyPlanner schedules a machine shop
Every routing on a machine that is free to run it
SkyPlanner schedules every routing to the machine capacity you really have, with the materials you really have, and shows the same plan at every machine.
Routings across lathes, mills and outside processing
Each part follows its own routing: saw, turn, mill, deburr, heat treat, grind, inspect. Every machine has its own shift calendar, maintenance and breakdowns are entered as exceptions, and personnel scheduling makes sure nobody is planned on a machine without an operator. Outside operations such as heat treatment, plating or coating run on subcontractor workstations, so their time is part of the schedule instead of a gap in it.
- Next operation can start on the first finished parts before the whole batch is done
- Several plants scheduled together, with transfer times between sites
Bar stock, castings, purchased parts and sub-assemblies
Material for a machined part may be bar stock, a casting, a forging or purchased components, and many parts end up in a sub-assembly. SkyPlanner handles multi-level bills of materials and sub-products, calculates material needs at every level and, with material-based scheduling on, starts a job only when its materials will be there.
- Material shortages visible in planning before they stop a machine
- Need dates for purchasing flow back to your ERP
Every machinist sees the same plan
Machinists see their own work queue in a simple worker view or the SkyPlanner shop-floor app, and can open the drawing for the job on a tablet. They start, pause and complete jobs and report quantities and scrap as they go, so the schedule always reflects what has actually happened at the machine.
Rush orders, breakdowns and late heat treatment
A machine stops. The new schedule is ready in seconds.
When a rush order arrives, a machine goes down or a batch comes back late from heat treatment, the Arcturus AI engine rebuilds the schedule in seconds. Lock jobs that must not move, raise priorities or fast-track an urgent order.
- Add a quote as a sales prospect scheduled as a simulated order and see the earliest realistic delivery date, without disturbing confirmed orders.
- See what accepting a rush order does to every other promise.
- Quote dates come from the real load on your lathes and mills.
The value SkyPlanner brings us is that it is a tool that works in daily use, especially for setting delivery dates. There, I think, it works well.
Tommi Männistö, Production Planning Manager, Eskomatic Oy
Contract machining of demanding metal components · Eskomatic’s SkyPlanner APS review
Integrates with any ERP or MES
Your ERP keeps the part numbers. SkyPlanner decides what each machine cuts next.
SkyPlanner connects to all ERP and MES systems through its open REST API, including in-house systems. Orders, parts and routings flow in, planned times and material need dates flow back. It also runs standalone, so you can start scheduling before an integration is in place.
From your ERP
ERP · MES · CSV · Manual
- Sales orders & quotes
- Parts & routings
- Materials & stock
- Customers & due dates
SkyPlanner APS
Schedules production
- Machines
- Shifts
- Setups
- Routings
- Materials
- Subcontracting
- Schedule
Back to your ERP
ERP · Reports · Management
- Planned start & end times
- Material need dates
- Progress & quantities
- Delivery dates
- SAP S/4HANA
- Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
- Oracle NetSuite
- Infor
- Epicor
- IFS Cloud
- Sage X3
- Odoo
- JobBOSS²
- Global Shop Solutions
Where SkyPlanner fits
Used by machine shops of every size
From a single cell of CNC machines to tool and mold making shops and multi-site machining groups. SkyPlanner earns its place wherever many different part numbers compete for the same spindles.
Machining segments
- Contract machining and job shops
- CNC turning and Swiss-type turning
- Milling and 5-axis machining
- Hydraulic and pneumatic components
- Medical and instrument parts
- Shafts, gears and drive components
- Tool and mold making, dies and fixtures
- Machined parts for equipment manufacturers
Why SkyPlanner
Why job shops schedule their CNC machines with SkyPlanner
SkyPlanner APS is AI production scheduling software for machine shops and contract machining companies that want every CNC machine loaded to real capacity, setups grouped and delivery dates they can quote with the order, without replacing their ERP. It runs on its own from day one and connects to any ERP or MES through an open REST API.
Setup-aware sequencing built in
A changeover matrix per machine for material, bar diameter, fixture or part family, and the scheduler groups similar jobs to cut total setup time.
Outside processing inside the routing
Heat treatment, plating and coating run on subcontractor workstations, so the next machining step and the delivery date account for them.
Replanned in seconds
The Arcturus AI engine rebuilds the finite-capacity schedule in seconds when a machine stops, bar stock is late or a customer pulls an order forward.
Dates sales can quote
Schedule a quote as a simulated order and see the earliest realistic delivery date without disturbing confirmed orders.
Published price, free trial
From 199 € / month with 5 workstations included. Start a 30-day free trial with up to 20 workstations and no credit card.
Any ERP or MES, any language
Schedule on your own before any integration, then connect any ERP or MES through the REST API. The user interface comes in 29 languages for multi-country groups.
Security and data
SkyPlanner runs in the cloud on AWS. If your data needs to stay in a specific country, a dedicated server there is available by agreement. Data is backed up daily and backups are kept for 30 days. Users can sign in with Google or Microsoft accounts and two-factor authentication. A data processing agreement is available, and customer data is never used to train AI models.
Pricing
From 199 € / month
5 workstations included. Each additional workstation is 20 € per month. There is a free trial, and guided onboarding packages are available if you want help setting up machines, routings and setup matrices.
Questions machine shops ask
Frequently asked questions
What is the best production scheduling software for machine shops?
A machine shop needs scheduling software that sequences jobs to cut setup time, plans outside processing such as heat treatment as part of the routing and gives sales a delivery date from the real load on the machines. SkyPlanner APS does all three, with finite-capacity scheduling that the Arcturus AI engine rebuilds in seconds when the day changes. Pricing is published, from 199 € / month, there is a 30-day free trial, and SkyPlanner integrates with any ERP or MES through its REST API.
Is SkyPlanner a finite-capacity scheduler for CNC lathes and machining centres?
Yes. SkyPlanner APS is an advanced planning and scheduling system that loads every lathe, mill and machining centre only up to the hours its shift calendar really has. Each job is placed on a machine that is free to run it, with setting time included, and the Arcturus AI engine optimises the order of jobs across the whole shop.
What does SkyPlanner exchange with a machine shop ERP such as Epicor or JobBOSS²?
Sales orders and quotes, parts and routings, materials and stock, customers and due dates flow in from the ERP. Planned start and end times, material need dates, reported quantities and delivery dates flow back. The open REST API connects to any ERP or MES, including Global Shop Solutions and in-house systems, and the integration is built by Skycode or by your own developers using the public API documentation.
Which parts of job shop planning stay in the ERP when SkyPlanner sequences the machines?
Part numbers, quotes, inventory, purchasing and invoicing stay in your ERP. SkyPlanner decides which job each machine cuts next, in what order and when, and sends those times and the material need dates back so purchasing knows when bar stock and castings are needed.
How quickly can a CNC shop have its first schedule running?
The same day. Start the 30-day free trial with up to 20 workstations and no credit card, enter your machines, a few routings and the jobs in your backlog, or try it with demo data, and schedule them without any integration. Onboarding workshops then set up your changeover matrices, subcontractor workstations and shift calendars, and the ERP connection follows when you are ready.
Is SkyPlanner sized for a five-machine job shop as well as a multi-site machining group?
Yes. SkyPlanner is used by machine shops of every size, from a single cell of CNC machines to groups scheduling several plants together with transfer times between sites. Pricing starts at 199 € per month with 5 workstations included and 20 € per month for each additional workstation, and the user interface in 29 languages lets machinists in every country work in their own language.
Can SkyPlanner schedule outside processing such as heat treatment and coating?
Yes. Heat treatment, plating, coating or outside grinding are set up as subcontractor workstations in the routing, and wait times between steps are added to the process step. The next machining operation is planned for when the parts are back, so the delivery date reflects the whole routing.
How does SkyPlanner group jobs by bar diameter, fixture or part family to cut setups?
You give parts properties such as material, bar diameter, fixture or part family and define a changeover matrix for each machine, with the time to move from one value to another in each direction. The scheduler then runs similar jobs back to back to minimise total setup time while keeping due dates, and the Gantt timeline shows the job order on every machine with setting time included.
More industries
Production scheduling in related industries
Plan furnaces, dies and alloys for foundries, forges and stamping plants.
Put next week’s job list on your own machines
Bring your machine list, a few routings and the orders in your backlog. We will show them scheduled on your machines, with setups grouped, heat treatment slotted in and the dates you can quote.
