In a manufacturing
system that has a plurality of sheet fabrication machines, to enhance the efficiency of the
system, there are provided a plurality of databases each for storing particular data relating to the machines, the types of materials to be used, the tooling of the machines, etc. of the
system. When a multi-dimensional model of a component part to be produced by the system is input to the system, selective data is retrieved from the various databases so that at least one
machine of the plurality of machines of the system is selected to produce the part from a worksheet of a chosen material. Concurrently, or shortly thereafter, a NC
part program for
programming the selected
machine to execute the necessary operations in accordance with a flat drawing generated from the multi-dimensional model to fabricate the component part is generated based on selective data retrieved from the databases. With the NC
part program, the selected
machine performs the operations necessary for producing the component part from the sheet stock material chosen for the component part. If there are
multiple component parts to be produced in the same production run, the system would sort the different parts and arrange for the ordered fabrication of the different parts by respective selected machines equipped with corresponding appropriate NC programs to eliminate any potential
bottleneck or conflicts that may arise due to the fabrication of multiple parts by multiple machines during the same production run.