Backgrounds on setup classes and setup states in LN
An important means to save time during production is to cut down on setup times. Reducing setup times reflects the situation on the job shop in reality. Setup classes and setup states are used in LN to achieve a cut down on setup times.
Setup classes and setup states enable you to group different items from different production orders based on characteristics that they have in common. The sequence in which production orders are handled is influenced so that an operation on the group of items can be carried out without changing the machine's setup.
When you define generic items with features and options, you can generate a setup class for each feature and a setup state for each option. You can use setup states to plan with order blocks. Order blocks are sets of production orders with common setup states.
Example
If you want to spray-paint an item green during a specific operation, you must set up the required machine, which takes some time.
If you subsequently use the same machine to spray-paint an item red, the machine must be set up again for the red paint.
To reduce setup times, you can best schedule all production orders in which items are spray-painted red successively and do the same with the green items.
Switching the machine over from green to red paint could cost more time than a machine's changeover from red to green. In the case of this example, it is more efficient to process the orders for red paint first.