Molding shops run on cycles. Your schedule should track them.
Injection molding, blow molding, extrusion. Your machines run in cycles. A job might run 10,000 parts over two days on one press. Then you switch molds, purge the machine, load new material, and start the next job.
The schedule isn’t just “which press runs which job.” It’s accounting for mold changes, material switches, color sequences (light to dark), and the finishing work that happens after the parts come off the machine. Trimming, assembly, packaging, quality checks.
Machestra puts every machine and every step on one screen. You see what’s running, what’s changing over, and what’s queued up next.
What plastics shops deal with
Long run times. A molding job might run for hours or days on one machine. Your schedule needs to show multi-day blocks, not just hourly slots.
Mold changeovers. Switching molds takes time. Some changes take 30 minutes. Some take half a day. Your schedule needs to account for changeover time between jobs.
Color sequencing. Running light colors before dark colors saves purge time and material. Your schedule should let you sequence jobs on a machine to minimize color changes.
Material tracking. Resin, colorant, additives. You buy in bulk and consume across multiple jobs. Knowing how much resin is left before scheduling a 48-hour run matters. Running out mid-run means stopping the press, which means scrap and lost time.
Secondary operations. Parts come off the press, but the job isn’t done. Trimming flash, assembly, pad printing, packaging. These steps happen at different stations with different people.
How Machestra works for plastics shops
Every press on one board. Injection molding machines, extruders, blow molders, trim presses, assembly stations. All on the scheduling board. You see run times, changeovers, and what’s queued.
Multi-step job tracking. Mold on press 3, trim at station A, assemble at bench 2, pack at shipping. Each step gets its own assignment. You see where every job is in the process.
Material tracking. Track resin, colorant, and packaging by type and quantity. Get alerts when stock drops below your threshold. No more finding out you’re low on material when the press is already running.
Conflict detection. Schedule two jobs on the same press at the same time and Machestra catches it. Double-bookings get caught before they hit the floor.
No per-user fees. Press operators, quality inspectors, office staff, and the shop owner all see the schedule. Nobody gets locked out.
What you don’t need
You don’t need MES (Manufacturing Execution System) features. You don’t need cycle counting tied to machine sensors. You don’t need SPC charts built into your scheduling tool.
You need to know what’s running on each press, when the next job starts, whether you have the material, and who’s assigned. Four things.
If you’re tracking mold schedules in a spreadsheet, it stops working once you have more than a few presses and overlapping runs. And MRP systems like MRPeasy at $49/user/month add features molding shops don’t need at prices they shouldn’t pay.
Pricing
- Free: 3 machines, 5 users. No credit card.
- Starter ($12/mo):* 10 machines, 50 users.
- Growth ($39/mo):* 100 machines, 100 users.
Your whole team, one price.
Getting started
- Sign up free
- Import your machines and jobs
- Start scheduling
Under 10 minutes. No mold change required.
*All Machestra prices shown in USD. Actual price may vary based on your location.