All fifty states, Alaska and Hawaii included
Do it yourself for nothing, or we fly out and do it for you.
If you are comfortable with an IP address and a switch, you can connect the whole shop yourself at no cost. Most machinists are not network administrators, and there is no reason they should be. That is what the visit is for.
Your CNCs
Fanuc · Okuma · Haas
Ethernet switch
on the floor
Windows PC
GI Flow Middleware
GI Flow
hosted in the US
Your screens
board · desk · phone
- spindle state
- cycle counts
- alarms
- part counts
- overrides
Do it yourself
$0
follow the six steps below
We come to you · first 5 machines
$4,000
flat, all travel included
Each machine after
$750
same visit, same rate
What the $4,000 covers
A flat, all-in number. We do not bill travel back to you afterwards.
Why charge for the visit at all? Other platforms bury the engineer's trip inside a $15,000–$20,000 licence. We have no licence fee to bury it in, so we charge what the trip costs.
Flights or the drive
Whichever suits where you are. Our cost.
Hotel and meals
However many nights it takes. Never itemised back.
Technician time on site
A full day if it needs one. No hourly meter.
Up to five machines connected
On your switch, talking to Flow, data verified.
Every reading checked
Spindle state, cycle counts and alarms against the control.
Training while we are there
Your maintenance person learns to add the next machine.
Alaska, Hawaii and sites needing more than one night on the road are quoted before booking: the travel difference, nothing else.
What getting started usually costs
Five machines, first year, before any subscription.
- Typical shop-floor software, licence alonePaid as a licence before you start, before implementation and consultant days
- $15–20k+
- GI Flow, we install itNo licence. One flat visit, travel included, five machines verified
- $4,000
- GI Flow, you install itNo licence, no visit. Follow the guide below
- $0
Doing it yourself
Six steps, start to finish.
Most shops get the first machine reporting in under an hour, and the rest go faster.
- Step 1
Put every machine on an Ethernet switch
An ordinary commercial switch, cabled to each CNC, with internet to the building. We send the spec and a wiring diagram free.
- Step 2
Put a Windows PC on the same switch
Any basic desktop, left running. No server, no rack.
- Step 3
Install GI Flow Middleware
Download it from your account, run the installer, sign in. It pairs itself to your shop.
- Step 4
Give each machine an IP address
Set a static IP on the control, on the same range as the switch. A couple of screens on Fanuc or Okuma.
- Step 5
Add the machine in the middleware
Type the IP, name it, and the middleware confirms what it can read.
- Step 6
It appears in Flow
Within seconds: spindle state, cycle counts and alarms on the floor board.
The visit is booked once your side is ready.
We connect machines; we do not build networks. If the switch or PC is not in, the technician cannot finish. We confirm readiness a week before, and keeping cabling out of scope is what keeps the visit at a flat $4,000.
- 01
An Ethernet switch, cabled to every CNC
Any local IT contractor can do it in a day.
- 02
A Windows PC on that switch, left running
A basic desktop is enough.
- 03
MTConnect enabled on each control
Send us your machine list and we will say which need it.
- 04
A maintenance person for a few hours
Someone who can open a control. Our technician works alongside them.
Verified machines
Machines we have connected ourselves.
Every machine below was wired to Flow by our technicians, running real production work, with the data checked against the control. New models join weekly. We verify an unlisted machine on your floor at no charge.
| Machine | Type | Control | What Flow reads | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tsugami BO386-III | Swiss lathe · 8-axis | Fanuc · Ethernet option card | Spindle state, cycles, alarms, overrides | In our own shop |
| Okuma Multus B250 | Multitasking turning centre | Okuma OSP-P300 | Spindle state, cycles, alarms, program, part count | In our own shop |
| Takisawa TM2000 series | Chucker lathe · bar loader | Fanuc 0i-TF | Spindle state, cycles, alarms, part count | In our own shop |
| Haas VF-3 | Vertical machining centre | Haas NGC | Spindle state, cycles, alarms, tool in spindle | Verified |
| Brother Speedio 450 | High-speed drill-tap centre | Brother CNC-D00 | Spindle state, cycles, alarms, part count | Verified |
Using a different make or control? Most built in the last fifteen years work.
See all supported controls →Send us your machine list first
We will tell you which machines report live, which need an interface card, and which stay on manual entry, before a technician is booked.