One screen for your entire machine shop
You run a machine shop. Mills, lathes, grinders, saws, maybe a wire EDM. Jobs come in, you figure out which machines each job needs, you schedule the work, and you keep everything moving.
The challenge isn’t any single job. It’s 15 jobs across 8 machines with different deadlines, different operators, and different materials, all at the same time. That’s where the whiteboard runs out of space and the spreadsheet gets confusing.
Machestra gives your machine shop one screen for everything. Every machine, every job, every deadline. You see what’s running, what’s idle, and what’s coming next.
Machine shop scheduling challenges
Every job is different. Machine shops do custom work. Every part is different. Every job has a unique set of operations. There’s no standard sequence you can repeat. Your scheduling tool can’t assume you make the same thing over and over.
Multiple operations per job. A typical job might go: saw the bar, face and turn on the lathe, mill the profile, drill and tap holes, deburr, inspect. That’s 6 operations across 4 machines. Your schedule needs to track each step, not just the job as a whole.
Tight tolerances, specific machines. That bore needs the CNC lathe, not the manual one. The surface finish requires the cylindrical grinder. Your schedule has to put the right job on the right machine, because the machines aren’t interchangeable.
Setup time. Changing fixtures, loading programs, indicating parts. Setup can eat 30 minutes to 2 hours per job. If your schedule doesn’t account for it, your shop runs behind all day.
Mix of CNC and manual. Most machine shops run both. The CNC runs unattended (mostly), the manual machines need an operator the whole time. Scheduling operators matters more for manual work.
How Machestra works for machine shops
Machine-centric scheduling. Every machine in your shop shows up on the scheduling board. You see the timeline for each one. What’s on it today, what’s coming tomorrow, where the gaps are.
Per-operation job tracking. Break every job into its operations. Saw, lathe, mill, grind, inspect. Each operation gets its own machine, operator, and time slot. You always know which step a job is on and where it’s going next. Read more about tracking jobs across multiple machines.
Conflict detection. Schedule a job on a machine that’s already booked and Machestra warns you before you save. No more double-bookings.
Operator assignment. Assign operators to operations. See who’s available. Make sure nobody is scheduled in two places at once.
Material tracking. Bar stock, plate, tube. Track what’s on the rack and get alerts before you run low. No more discovering you’re out of 4140 after the job is already scheduled.
Why not a full ERP?
ERP vendors will tell you that your machine shop needs quoting, job costing, purchasing, accounting, quality management, and shipping all in one system. That’s 30+ features.
You need 4. Machines, people, materials, schedules.
ERPs are built for larger operations. The setup takes weeks. The per-user pricing adds up fast. And most of the features sit unused.
Machestra does the scheduling. Keep your quoting in whatever you use now. Keep your accounting in QuickBooks. Use one focused tool for the floor schedule instead of one bloated tool for everything.
Pricing
No per-user fees. Add your whole team. Operators, office staff, shop foreman. Everyone sees the schedule.
- Free: 3 machines, 5 users. No credit card.
- Starter ($12/mo):* 10 machines, 50 users.
- Growth ($39/mo):* 100 machines, 100 users.
Compare that to MRPeasy at $49/user/month or JobBOSS2 with custom enterprise pricing.
Getting started
- Sign up free
- Import your machines and jobs from a spreadsheet
- Start scheduling your shop
Under 10 minutes. No sales calls. No consultants.
*All Machestra prices shown in USD. Actual price may vary based on your location.