ForgeUse Cases

Five scenarios.
What actually happens.

Each walkthrough shows exactly which Forge products activate, in sequence, and what the outcome is — compared to the same scenario without Forge.

Sensor FailureObsolete BearingRepeated Work OrderFailed RepairEngineering Change
01Autonomous response

Sensor Failure

Spindle load sensor on VMC-01 exceeds threshold during a production run.

With Forge

ForgeMachine

Sensor breach logged. Subsystem identified from PLC I/O map: spindle drive assembly, axis Z.

ForgeOps

Fault correlated against history. First occurrence. Classified as non-recurring. Corrective WO dispatched automatically.

ForgeMaint

Work order created with machine ID, subsystem, sensor readings, and fault timestamp pre-filled. Assigned to available technician.

ForgeSchematics

Electrical schematic for spindle drive assembly attached to WO. Technician sees the wiring diagram on their iPad before they touch the machine.

ForgeProcure

Parts check: spindle load cell is above reorder threshold. No PO raised — part available in stores.

ForgeMaint

Technician completes repair. Post-repair sensor readings captured. Machine returned to production with verified data, not a signature.

ForgeMachine

Fault record closed. Component history updated. Machine health score recalculated.

With Forge

Machine down for 47 minutes. No manual intervention required to open the work order, locate the schematic, or check parts. Total elapsed from sensor breach to WO: 8 seconds.

Without Forge

Operator calls supervisor. Supervisor logs into CMMS. Technician searches shared drive for schematic (version unknown). Calls stores. Machine sits 2–4 hours.

02Engineering escalation

Obsolete Bearing

A recurring fault on the same subsystem — bearing failure on Press Line 4, three times in 14 days.

With Forge

ForgeMachine

Third bearing failure recorded on Press Line 4, main cam follower, in 14 days.

ForgeOps

Recurring fault threshold exceeded. Classifies as chronic failure. Dispatches corrective WO and simultaneously creates engineering brief.

ForgeMaint

WO created with full fault history: three occurrences, MTBF 4.7 days, sensor readings at each failure. Technician dispatched.

ForgeProcure

Replacement bearing below reorder threshold. Draft PO raised against approved vendor — bearing on order before technician starts the repair.

ForgeCAD

Engineering brief opened: machine ID, subsystem, fault history, deviation measurements, failure mode. Engineer opens a pre-loaded design context — not a blank file.

ForgeKnowledge

Engineer queries: 'What changed on Press Line 4 in the last 60 days?' ForgeKnowledge returns: lubrication PM interval extended 3 weeks ago.

ForgeCAD

Engineer redesigns mount with integrated lube port. New revision released. ForgeMachine updates maintenance procedure automatically.

With Forge

Root cause identified and addressed in 3 days. Same fault has not recurred. Previous pattern: repair → recur → repair → recur indefinitely.

Without Forge

Three WOs raised manually over 14 days. No pattern detection. No engineering notification. Root cause never addressed. Fault recurs until bearing damages the cam.

03Pattern detection

Repeated Work Order

The same fault code on the same machine, raised by three different technicians over six weeks — each time treated as a one-off.

With Forge

ForgeMaint

Fourth WO for fault code E-4421 on Lathe CNC-07. ForgeMaint flags it as recurring — configurable window is 45 days.

ForgeOps

Recurring classification triggers engineering brief in ForgeCAD and a technician performance review flag.

ForgeKnowledge

Query: 'What repair was performed on each E-4421 WO for CNC-07?' Returns: three different repair approaches by three technicians. None resolved the root cause.

ForgeMaint

Workforce intelligence flag: three different technicians, three different diagnoses, zero first-time fixes. Training gap identified on fault category: hydraulic pressure faults.

ForgeCAD

Engineering brief includes all four WO histories, sensor readings at each failure, and the three repair approaches that didn't work.

ForgeCAD

Root cause identified: hydraulic accumulator pre-charge pressure drifts outside spec under thermal cycling. Design fix issued.

ForgeMaint

Training record updated for hydraulic pressure fault category. Technicians notified of new diagnosis procedure.

With Forge

Pattern identified on the fourth occurrence. Root cause resolved at the design level. Training gap closed before it caused further repeat failures on other machines.

Without Forge

Four separate WOs, each treated independently. No cross-WO analysis. No engineering involvement. Fault recurs. Machine availability degrades. Nobody knows why.

04Repair verification

Failed Repair

Machine returned to production after a repair — sensor data says the fault wasn't actually fixed.

With Forge

ForgeMaint

Technician closes WO and initiates repair verification step. Post-repair sensor readings captured.

ForgeMaint

Verification step fails: spindle load reading is 12% above nominal — outside the acceptable band for this machine. WO cannot be closed.

ForgeOps

Machine status: not cleared for production. Supervisor notified. Job rescheduled automatically to next available machine.

ForgeMaint

WO reopened. Technician returns. ForgeKnowledge surfaces: same verification failure occurred once before on this machine — the previous technician found a secondary worn bearing behind the primary.

ForgeMaint

Secondary bearing replaced. Verification step repeated. Post-repair readings within nominal band. WO closed with complete sensor evidence.

ForgeMachine

Machine health score updated. Full repair history — both repair attempts and both verification readings — logged against the component.

With Forge

Failed repair caught before the machine re-entered production. Defective part not used on a customer job. Secondary fault identified using knowledge from a previous similar case.

Without Forge

Technician signs off the WO. Machine returns to production. Fault recurs mid-run. Customer job scrapped. Root cause still not identified.

05Digital thread

Engineering Change

A ForgeCAD design revision changes a critical dimension on a part machined on three different machines.

With Forge

ForgeCAD

Engineer releases revision B of Part #HX-4821. Critical bore diameter changed from 42.0mm to 42.5mm. Tolerance tightened from h6 to h5.

ForgeHub

Design change event published. All downstream subscribers notified simultaneously.

ForgeMachine

Three machines are scheduled to run HX-4821 jobs. NC programs for all three flagged as stale. Tool offset recalculation required before next run.

ForgeMaint

PM procedure for bore inspection updated automatically to reflect new tolerance. Technicians see the new inspection criteria next time they open a related WO.

ForgeProcure

BOM updated. Material lot requirements rechecked against the new dimension. One pending PO flagged for review — bar stock diameter may be insufficient for the tighter bore.

ForgeCompliance

Change record created automatically. Revision A archived with full history. Revision B active. AS9100 change control requirements met without manual documentation.

ForgeKnowledge

Design change logged with rationale, engineer, and timestamp. Any future query about HX-4821 returns the full change history with reasons.

With Forge

Three machine job queues updated before the next run. One material PO flagged for review. Compliance record created automatically. Total manual work: zero.

Without Forge

Engineer emails the floor. Someone updates one of the three machines. The other two run the old program. Customer receives parts to the old tolerance. NCR raised. Root cause traced to an email nobody forwarded.

See it on your machines.

Every scenario above runs from the first machine event. Under 15 minutes to connect Forge to your floor.