Why bake windows matter
High-strength steel parts plated with EN or chrome absorb hydrogen during plating. Per ASTM B850 / AMS 2759 / QQ-N-290, a post-plate bake must start within 4 hours of plate exit to drive the hydrogen back out. Miss that window and the part is at risk of cracking months later — a field failure nobody wants.
Fusion Plating tracks every batch against that 4-hour clock.
Menu: Plating → Shop Floor → Bake Windows.
Reading the list
Each row is one bake-eligible batch with:
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Batch | The rack/barrel reference |
| Plated At | Timestamp plate-out occurred |
| Bake Start By | Plated At + 4h (the compliance deadline) |
| Started At | When the bake actually started (blank if not yet) |
| Status | AWAITING / IN PROGRESS / COMPLETE / MISSED |
| Countdown | Live — "2h 15m remaining" / OVERDUE |
Filter presets
- Awaiting + countdown < 1h — URGENT queue. Start these immediately.
- Missed — the compliance failures. Every row here is a quality incident.
- My Station — filter by the oven operator.
Starting a bake
Two paths:
From the Tablet Station (usual):
- Open Tablet Station → Bake Windows panel.
- Tap Open on the batch.
- Confirm oven ID, set bake recipe (time + temperature).
- Tap Start Bake. Countdown stops.
From this list:
- Click the row.
- Click Start Bake.
- Same confirmation dialog.
Bake status flips to IN PROGRESS. The system tracks actual vs. expected duration.
Completing a bake
At the scheduled end:
- Oven controller fires the end-of-cycle alert, OR
- Operator comes back at the scheduled time.
- Open the bake record → Complete Bake.
- Enter actual start/end times if different from scheduled.
- Record any deviations (under-temperature period, early stop).
Status flips to COMPLETE. The batch is cleared for the next process step.
Missed windows
If a batch's "Bake Start By" passed without a bake starting, status flips to MISSED. This is a compliance hit:
- The batch auto-gets a Quality Hold.
- Notifications fire to the QA lead + shop manager (via
FP: Bake Window Missedtemplate). - Root cause investigation must open a CAPA.
- Customer may need to be notified depending on spec.
Don't try to "unmisss" a window by backdating — the system logs keystroke time separately. Write a CAPA, propose a disposition (scrap / accept with deviation / re-work).
What can go wrong
Batch shows on the list but shouldn't be bake-eligible
Check the coating config — someone may have flagged it as bake-required when it shouldn't be. Open the coating → uncheck Requires Post-Plate Bake for future parts.
Bake started but status still AWAITING
Refresh. If it persists, the batch_id on the bake record doesn't match. Manually edit via the batch form → baking tab.
Oven cycle took longer than planned
Enter actual end time on completion. The system records the variance; ongoing variance > 30 min flags the oven for calibration review.