Line and tool fit
A part can only run on lines whose forming area, depth of draw, and trim station suit its tool. Record that eligibility per part.
Thermoforming scheduling
Production scheduling for thermoforming lines
Turn thermoformed part orders into a line-feasible schedule that accounts for which lines can run each part, your output per hour, the changeover minutes you enter for tool and material changes, and delivery dates.
30 days free · No credit card required · No automatic charge
Who this is for
Built for the people accountable for the next run
Production managers running roll-fed or inline thermoforming lines who schedule in a spreadsheet today.
Schedulers balancing tool, material, and gauge changes across a few forming lines.
Owners who want delivery risk and pallet traceability visible without an ERP rollout.
Real scheduling constraints
Open hours are not the same as usable capacity
Output per hour
Output depends on cycles per minute and cavities for each part on each line. Enter the demonstrated parts per hour for each line/part pair.
Tool, material, and gauge changes
Tool swaps, material changes (PET, PP, HIPS), and gauge changes take different times depending on what ran before, so setup time is product-to-product.
Sheet supply
Two-stage plants form sheet that was extruded earlier. RunMark schedules each forming run on its own; it does not tie it to the sheet extrusion run that feeds it.
Order-to-schedule example
From demand to a traceable production run
- 1 · Capture the order
Order: 400,000 PET clamshells, due in five production days, on a tool approved for two forming lines.
- 2 · Build the plan
RunMark considers only the approved lines, sizes the run from each line’s configured parts-per-hour rate, and reserves the changeover minutes from whatever ran before it on the chosen line.
- 3 · Release and label
The calculated finish shows against the due date, and pallet or case labels carry product, line, run, production date, order reference, and unit sequence.
One connected workflow
The production facts stay attached to the run
Line capability
Set which parts each forming line—or inline extrusion-and-forming line—can run.
Throughput
Use parts per hour for each line and part, worked out from your own cycle rate and cavitation.
Changeovers
Enter setup minutes for each part-to-part switch—tool, material, or gauge. The optimizer reserves that time before each run.
Due dates
Relate every production block to the order promise and revise the plan when a rush order arrives.
Traceability
Generate case or pallet labels from the scheduled run.
Spreadsheet scheduling compared
Replace fragile cells with shared production context
| Spreadsheet workflow | RunMark workflow |
|---|---|
| Tool-to-line fit is remembered, not recorded. | Line/part eligibility is explicit. |
| Run time is divided out by hand from a remembered rate. | Configured rates drive run duration. |
| Tool and material changes hide in cell comments. | Setup time occupies visible line time. |
| Pallet labels live in a separate template. | Labels come from the scheduled run. |
Relevant RunMark capabilities
Enough structure for the floor, without ERP overhead
- Excel order import
- Line-to-part eligibility
- Per-line production rates
- Product-to-product changeover times
- Shift calendars per line
- Visual production schedule
- PDF case and pallet labels
Start with one real week of production
Start with your forming lines, active parts, and open orders. RunMark fits single-stage scheduling—inline lines, or forming from purchased or stocked sheet. If you extrude your own sheet in a separate step, it will not link that run to the forming run. The 30-day trial needs no credit card.
Pricing is one plan at $249/month or $2,490/year, with unlimited lines, orders, and SKUs, after a 30-day free trial.
Frequently asked questions
Practical questions from thermoforming teams
Can RunMark schedule sheet extrusion and forming as linked steps?
No. Each order is one run on one line, with no multi-step routing. An inline line can be modeled as a single line; a two-stage plant would schedule sheet and forming as separate, unlinked orders.
Does it track tools shared between lines?
No. RunMark schedules lines, not tools as a separate shared resource, so it will not stop one tool being planned on two lines at once.
Does RunMark optimize the changeover sequence?
Partly. RunMark’s optimizer reserves the changeover minutes you enter for each part pair before each run, never places runs closer together than that allows, and weighs changeover time against due dates. If the optimizer is unavailable, a simpler fallback scheduler drafts the schedule instead; the draft review shows which one produced it. The fallback also reserves your changeover minutes before and after every run it places, but it places orders one at a time in due-date order instead of weighing them all together. Neither searches for the sequence with the least total changeover across the week.
How do I enter cycle rate and cavities?
Enter the resulting parts per hour for each line and part. RunMark schedules from that rate.
What goes on a pallet label?
Available label fields include product, production date, line, run number, unit number, order reference, part number, and company identity.
Is a credit card required for the trial?
No. The 30-day trial requires no credit card and creates no automatic charge.