Your CNC shop runs on machines. Your schedule should too.
You have mills, lathes, grinders, maybe a wire EDM. Each one has jobs queued up. Each job has multiple operations that move from one machine to the next. And somewhere between the whiteboard on the wall and the spreadsheet on your desk, the schedule lives.
Until it doesn’t. A rush job comes in. The Haas goes down. An operator calls in sick. Now you’re reshuffling everything in your head while the phone rings.
Machestra puts every CNC machine on one screen. You see what’s running, what’s idle, and what’s next. No walking the floor. No checking three different files.
What CNC shops deal with
CNC shops have scheduling problems that generic project tools don’t understand.
Multi-operation jobs. A part doesn’t just go on one machine. It gets roughed on the mill, turned on the lathe, ground to final spec, maybe sent to heat treat. Each operation is a separate step on a separate machine. Your schedule needs to track each step individually, not just “Job 247: in progress.”
Machine-specific work. Not every job can go on every machine. That part needs the 4-axis, not the 3-axis. The tight-tolerance bore needs the newer lathe. Your schedule has to know which machine a job is assigned to, not just that it’s “in the shop.”
Setup time between jobs. Switching fixtures, loading programs, setting offsets. Setup eats time, and if your schedule doesn’t account for it, every job runs late by the setup time of the job before it.
Operator skill matching. Not every operator can run every machine. The new guy isn’t touching the 5-axis yet. Your schedule needs to assign people alongside machines.
How Machestra fits a CNC shop
Machines on one screen. Every mill, lathe, grinder, and EDM shows up on the scheduling board. You see what’s running on each one and when it opens up. No walking the floor to check.
Multi-step operations. Break any job into as many operations as it needs. Assign each operation to a specific machine and operator. Track each step from “not started” to “done.” You always know which step a job is on, not just whether it’s somewhere in the shop.
Conflict detection. Try to put two jobs on the same CNC at the same time and Machestra flags it before you save. No more double-booked machines discovered when the second operator shows up.
Operator assignment. Assign the right person to the right machine for each operation. See who’s available and who’s already assigned.
Material tracking. Know whether you have the bar stock before you schedule the job. Get low-stock alerts before you run out mid-run.
What you don’t need
You don’t need a full ERP. You don’t need quoting software, accounting integration, or a CRM bolted onto your scheduling tool.
You need to know what every machine is doing, who’s on it, and what’s next. That’s what small manufacturers actually need.
Machestra does four things: machines, people, materials, schedules. If a CNC shop with 5 machines and no IT department wouldn’t use a feature, it’s not in the product.
If you need IoT machine monitoring with real cycle-time data from your CNC controllers, JITbase does that. Machestra doesn’t connect to controllers. It focuses on scheduling across all machine types without hardware requirements.
If you’ve looked at traditional MRP systems, MRPeasy costs $49/user/month and adds dozens of features most CNC shops never touch. Machestra does the scheduling for a fraction of the price.
Pricing for CNC shops
No per-user fees. Your operators, your office staff, your shop foreman all see the schedule. Nobody gets locked out.
- Free: 3 machines, 5 users. No credit card. No time limit.
- Starter ($12/mo):* 10 machines, 50 users. Full analytics.
- Growth ($39/mo):* 100 machines, 100 users. Priority support.
That’s the whole team for $12/month*. Compare that to $49/user/month from the typical ERP vendor.
Getting started
- Sign up free. No credit card.
- Import your machines and jobs from a spreadsheet. Map your columns and you’re done.
- Start scheduling. Assign operators, set deadlines, and see your whole shop on one screen.
Under 10 minutes from signup to scheduling.
*All Machestra prices shown in USD. Actual price may vary based on your location.