Shop Floor Layout Planner
Place machines and work areas to scale, then export the plan.
Start with the real footprint. Set Width and Depth in feet to the usable floor, not the building, and leave out the space you cannot put a machine in. Place the aisles before the machines, because an aisle you have not drawn is the one that gets taken by a pallet. Enter each station at its envelope rather than its table size, including the room the operator stands in and the clearance a door or enclosure needs when it opens. Then drag stations until the part travels in one direction instead of crossing the floor twice. The grid is ten feet, so you can read a gap without measuring.
What scale does the planner use?
Everything is in feet. You set the shop width and depth, each station carries its own footprint in feet, and the drawing scales to fit whatever space you give it. The grid lines sit ten feet apart, so you can read a distance off the plan without measuring.
How accurate do the machine footprints need to be?
Accurate enough to argue with. Use the machine envelope rather than the table size, and add the space the operator and the door need. A mill that is ten feet wide on paper but needs four more to open its enclosure will not fit where the plan says it does.
Should aisles be drawn as stations?
Yes, and that is the point of the aisle preset. An aisle you have not drawn is an aisle you will lose to a pallet. Block the travel paths first, then place machines around them, so the clearance you need is reserved rather than whatever is left over.
What does the utilization figure tell me?
It is the share of floor area the stations cover, which is a sanity check and not a target. Anything above roughly half usually means there is no room left for material, travel and work in process. A low figure is only good if the empty space is where you need it.
Can I use the export for a quote or a permit?
Treat it as a planning sketch rather than a drawing of record. It is to scale and good enough to walk the floor with and tape out, but it carries no utilities, no structure, no column grid and no egress. Anything official needs a drawing from someone qualified to stamp it.
Schedule Against The Floor You Actually Have.
WorkCell schedules work to the machines and people in the building, so a layout change shows up in your promise dates instead of surprising you.