Help Column

Find parts - step by step

The better the size and type of the requested parts fit to your available machine, the more efficient and competitive you can offer the production of the parts.

Here you will find a step-by-step description how to find the best fitting parts for your idle production machine on the MecMap platform.

Whether you are logged in or not, you can search for suitable parts. Visitors can enter an offer as well, but they must log in to submit the offer.

Terminology:

  • The Orderer is the person that advertises a part that he needs manufactured and subsequently issues a purchase order.
  • The Supplier is the person that issues a quotation, receives a purchase order, manufactures and ships the parts.

 

1 Start with the MecMap Home-Page or select "Find parts" in the header.

On the left side the filter is visible with the titles "Part shape / Material / Main machining process / Tolerance request /…"

The selection criteria are always set to "all" at the start, so that all parts are listed in the main window.
2 The button "My search profiles" will be explained later See chapter 9.2
3 If you would like to limit the selection, e.g. of materials for your desired parts, then click on the desired material.
4 Further materials can be selected and deselected by keeping the Ctrl key pressed down. Directly below the header, the number of parts matching your search criteria is permanently displayed at the top left.
5 Make your selection for the other search criteria using the same method as for the material.

Note how the number of hits increases or decreases with each search criteria!
6

Under "Part shape", select whether you want to search for angular / cubic or round / rotationally symmetrical parts.

Remember that you don't have to choose here either, all parts that match your previous search criteria will be considered, sorted by part size.

Before you enter values in the dimension fields, the parts are filtered independently of size, but according to the part type.
7 Enter the maximum dimensions you can process on your machine. Parts which are too big will be filtered out, the matching parts will be listed according the best fitting size.
8 Click the button "Show hits" All possible parts are listed, with the best fitting parts (largest possible) at the top.
9 If you are logged in, you can save the current search criteria with the link "Save search profile" in "My search profiles".

9.1 Enter a name for the saved search profile.

Since the part search is probably tailored to a machine group or to an individual machine, it is advisable to enter a name such as "5-axis machining centre XYZ".
9.2

Enter a value for how long you would like to be informed by e-mail that a part has been advertised that matches your search criteria.

You can also enter the value 0, then you will not receive any mail messages. The search will still be saved under the specified name and can also be recalled.

The stored search can be recalled at the next search by clicking the button "My search profiles", that means you can easily and quickly search for work for a certain machine!
9.3 Close with "OK". The search mask with your criterias have been stored.
10

Open the part description for parts that interest you by clicking on the part name.

All detailed information is displayed and you have the possibility to issue your quotation for the part.
11 The easiest way back to the search results is clicking on the back arrow of the browser "←".
12 Look for other parts with different characteristics in the same way.