Define Formula Inputs

Formula inputs are the materials that are to be used as raw materials in the recipe procedure. All phases that have an input parameter defined must have an input material assigned.

You can add the same material to the recipe with as many configurations as you require. Inputs that you define and add do not necessarily need to be used in the recipe procedure.

Note: You can assign the single instance of a material to the input parameter of more than one phase, and you can assign unique quantity values to each parameter. However, one material may not be used as both a percent value and an actual value within different phases in a recipe. If this is desired, you must add the material twice to the Formula Inputs Editor Inputs list.

To add formula inputs

1. Open the Recipe Editor.

2. On the Edit menu, click Formula Inputs.

   The Formula Inputs Editor dialog box appears.

   

3. Click Add Inputs.

   The Materials dialog box appears. All the materials in the Materials database of the selected Type, are listed. The material types include Ingredients, Intermediates, Finished Goods, By-Products, and Other.

   

4. Click the Type arrow and select the applicable material type.

5. Select the required materials from the list.

6. Click OK.

To edit input materials

7. On the Formula Inputs Editor dialog box, click Change Inputs.

   The Materials dialog box appears.

   

8. Click the Type arrow, and select the applicable material type.

9. Select the required material from the list.

10. Click OK.

    The new material retains the values and phase assignment that were assigned to previous input.

To add or change input materials – alternate method

If the Materials database grows very large, you might notice an increasing delay when you open the Materials dialog box. To avoid this delay, you can use an alternate method to add or change input materials.

11. On the Formula Inputs Editor dialog box, clear the Add Materials From List check box.

12. When you click Add Inputs or Change Input, the Material dialog box appears.

    

13. In the Material ID box, type the required material ID, and then click OK or Apply as appropriate.

    If the material is located in the Materials database, the material is added to the list in the Formula Inputs Editor dialog box. If the material does not exist in the Materials database, an error message appears.

To edit input material settings

Perform these steps in the Material Settings area of the Formula Inputs Editor dialog box.

14. Type a quantity in the Value box.

    For each material assigned as a recipe formula input, you can define a Value that represents the material quantity. You can designate this value either as a percentage of the total batch size or as an actual value.

15. Click the Type arrow and select Percent or Actual as required for the entered value.

16. Select the Total check box if you want the value to be included as part of the inputs total in the Inputs Summary list.

    The sum of all of the values assigned to inputs that have the Total check box selected appears in the Inputs Summary pane.

    This totaling feature functions only for inputs that have values of the same type. If there is a mix of input materials with actual values and percent values that have the Total check box selected, the Value appears as N/A.

    The Recipe Editor does not require that the total of inputs be equal to exactly 100%. An example of this is a recipe that varies in batch size from 100 to 5000 pounds. When the batch size is below 500 pounds, a specific group of inputs (ingredients) are assembled in advance as a premix and then added to the batch as an intermediate.

    When the size is equal to or above 500 pounds, all inputs are added individually. If the total intermediate is 25% of the batch and is included in the total, the total is 125%. If the Total check box is disabled for the intermediate, the total is 100%. In this example, the procedure includes parallel operations or phases for adding the inputs in question, with only the appropriate operations or phases being processed. Transition logic that evaluates the batch size is used to determine which operations or phases to run.

17. Click the Tolerance arrow and select General, Recipe, or None as required.

    General (default) tolerances are defined for each input as part of their entry into the Materials database. These tolerances appear in the high and low deviation fields as percentages. The tolerances can be also be assigned as Recipe specific. If you do not want to assign a tolerance, use the None option. You can change input material tolerances using the Formula Inputs Editor dialog box or by directly editing the phase in the recipe procedure.

18. If you specified Recipe as the Tolerance, enter a High Deviation and Low Deviation.

19. In the Unit of Measure text box, enter an appropriate term such as Kgs, Liters, or Gallons (16 characters maximum).

20. Click Change.