Build in layers
A candle is made of wax, a wick and a jar. But the scented wax is itself made of wax and fragrance in a blend you pour first. When a part has its own bill of materials, it becomes a layer: the blend is made in its own run, and the candle’s run draws on it.
Switch it on
Section titled “Switch it on”- Open Settings → General.
- In Advanced production, choose Multi-level assembly. Simple assembly is the default: a product is made of materials and works, one level, one production order.
Switching on changes nothing already recorded. Switching off is refused while any specification still contains another, and the screen names the ones in the way. Multi-level production is part of some plans only. If yours does not include it, Settings → General says so and Plan and usage shows which plan adds it.
Put a layer in a bill of materials
Section titled “Put a layer in a bill of materials”Add a made material, or a product with its own bill of materials, as a line on the candle’s Contents. The line shows we make in the Production cycle tab and expands to its own materials and labor. A bill of materials can never consume itself, directly or through other layers.
Decide how each layer is supplied
Section titled “Decide how each layer is supplied”On each line that has its own bill of materials, How it is made says what happens when the run needs it:
- Follow the material’s own setting: the line states nothing and shows what that means right now.
- Take only what is in stock.
- Take from stock, make up the shortfall automatically.
- Make it in full, without using stock: the layer is built with its parent and never kept in stock. Such a line carries a Built with parent mark.
Orders for every layer
Section titled “Orders for every layer”Each level gets its own production order. The timeline shows what waits for what: a dashed line means an order waits for another, and a solid red line means it starts too early. Dates are never moved for you. See Schedule production and see what is queuing.
Read the cost at every level
Section titled “Read the cost at every level”On a bill of materials, the cost can be read two ways:
- This level: a made component is counted at its full cost, with its own labor inside it.
- All levels: only purchased materials count under Materials, and every level’s labor and machine time sit under their own lines.
The total is the same either way. Overhead is absorbed on hours at every level.