At some point, almost every shop that has been running CIMCO Edit for a while runs into the same conversation. The shared drive is not working anymore. Programs are getting overwritten. Nobody can find the version that ran last month. An operator sent a program that someone had half-finished editing. It is time to get organized.
CIMCO offers two products that solve this problem.
- CIMCO NC-Base is a structured, searchable NC program database built for CNC shops that need controlled program storage, version history, and a managed transfer workflow.
- CIMCO MDM is a full Manufacturing Document Management system that handles NC programs alongside every other file that touches a job, with configurable multi-stage approval workflows, CAM integration, ERP connectivity, and document management capabilities that extend well beyond program storage.
Both products share architectural DNA. Both are client-server systems that integrate with CIMCO Edit. Both provide version control, access control, an Import Queue, and DNC-Max integration for program transfers.
The question is not which one works and which one does not. The question is which one matches the complexity of what your shop actually needs to manage.
This article covers the meaningful differences between the two, explains where each one stops delivering returns on its complexity, and gives a clear picture of when one, or the other, is the right answer.
The Core Problem Both Products Solve
A shared drive program library has no memory. It does not know which version of a program is approved, who changed it last, when it was last sent to the floor, or whether what came back from the machine matches what went out. Finding a program that ran six months ago is a folder navigation exercise. Knowing whether the version on the machine matches the one in the database is a manual comparison at best. Preventing an operator from sending an unapproved revision is impossible.
Both NC-Base and MDM replace that environment with a structured database where every program has a record, a history, a status, and a set of rules about who can interact with it and how. Both products sit behind CIMCO Edit and present themselves through an Explorer interface that makes finding and opening programs a search operation rather than a folder navigation. Both log every significant event against each program record. Both control what can be transferred to a machine based on the program’s current status.
That common foundation is real and meaningful. For the majority of shops, either product solves the shared drive problem completely. The differences become relevant when the shop’s workflow starts pushing against the limits of what NC-Base can express.
What NC-Base Does Well
NC-Base is organized around programs and machines. A program lives in the database, belongs to a machine group, can be associated with a customer, and can carry up to nine custom text fields that you define. Finding it is a search by any of those fields, by file content, by date range, by status, by locked or unlocked state, or by any combination. The search is fast, the results are immediate, and the interface is straightforward enough that an operator who has never used database software can learn it in an hour.
The version history in NC-Base is automatic. Every time a program is modified and saved through CIMCO Edit, the previous version is preserved. Any prior version is accessible from the Explorer, restorable with a few clicks, and comparable against the current version using CIMCO Edit’s File Compare. The log records who made each change and when.
The status system in NC-Base tracks programs through a fixed workflow: Importing, Updating, Ready, Checking, Checked, Approved, Updated, Check Failed, Approval Failed. Each status has configurable behavior: whether the program is locked or unlocked at that status, whether it is read-only, whether the transfer count is limited. Transitions between statuses are controlled by user group permissions. A program that is Approved can be sent to the floor. A program that is Updating cannot. That is the complete extent of what status controls in NC-Base, and for most shops it is exactly enough.
The Import Queue holds programs received from CNC machines for review before they enter the database. A reviewer compares the incoming file against the approved version, accepts or rejects it, and the system logs the outcome. Combined with DNC-Max’s auto receive, this closes the loop on unauthorized program modifications at the machine control.
User groups in NC-Base are configurable at the machine group level. A user can be authorized to work with Fanuc VMC programs but not lathe programs. Permissions are granular. Who can add programs, lock them, unlock them, send them, delete them, and approve them. The system is flexible enough to support a meaningful separation of roles between operators, programmers, and administrators.
What NC-Base does not do is manage any file that is not an NC program or directly associated with one. The database structure is fixed; programs, associated files, machine groups, customers. There is no level hierarchy, no document type configuration, no CAM file management, no workflow engine, no status definitions beyond the built-in set. If the shop’s needs fit inside those boundaries, NC-Base is the simpler, faster, and more cost-effective solution.
What MDM Does Differently
MDM starts from different architectural premises. Instead of a flat program database organized by machine group, MDM has a configurable level hierarchy that can represent whatever structure makes sense for the operation; part numbers, customer projects, machine cells, product families. Within that hierarchy, every level can hold multiple file types as primary records with independent revision histories, status workflows, and access controls. The NC program is one of many documents associated with a job, not the primary organizing element of the database.
That structural flexibility is what makes MDM the right tool for shops where program management is only part of what needs to be managed. A part record in MDM can contain a CAM file sub-level, an NC file sub-level, a setup sheet sub-level, a tool list sub-level, and a quality records sub-level, each with its own file type, its own access rules, and its own status workflow. Opening a job in MDM gives a programmer everything associated with that job in one place, not just the NC program.
The status system in MDM is fully configurable rather than fixed. Status names, transitions, behaviors, access controls, and workflow triggers are all defined per level during implementation. A shop with a simple two-step approval process configures two statuses. A shop under AS9100 with a formal first-article sign-off process configures the statuses that match that process exactly, with the access controls, required comments, and notification triggers that make the workflow enforceable rather than aspirational. The status system is not a set of behaviors to configure around. It is a blank canvas that gets configured to match the shop’s actual process.
The Workflow engine is MDM’s most significant capability beyond what NC-Base provides. A Workflow is a configurable sequence of automated steps triggered by a status change, a barcode scan, a user action, a scheduled time, or an MDC message. A workflow step can change a file status, send an email or internal notification, execute an SQL query against an ERP database, generate an XML or text file for a third-party system, run an external application, send or receive NC programs from machines, or create and delete levels automatically. The combination of configurable status workflows and automated workflow steps is what allows MDM to enforce a multi-step approval process without relying on anyone to remember to do the next thing.
CAM integration in MDM connects the programming environment directly to the document management system. When the CAM link is configured for Mastercam, SolidCAM, TopSolidCam, Edgecam, or other supported platforms, a programmer opens a CAM file directly from MDM into their CAM application, makes changes, and saves it back to MDM on check-in. The NC file generated by the post processor can be automatically imported into MDM at the same time and linked to the CAM file it came from. The association between the CAM file and the NC program is maintained in the database rather than tracked manually.
The External Data Sources configuration connects MDM database fields to an external ERP or MES database. When a part record is accessed, MDM can query the ERP and surface work order data, customer information, or scheduling fields in the Database Preview panel without any manual entry. Status changes can write records back to the ERP through SQL execution steps in the Workflow engine. Barcode scanning can trigger workflows that look up job records, update statuses, and notify relevant users from a single scan on a shop floor label.
Side by Side: Which One Is Right
NC-Base is the right choice for shops where CNC program management is the primary requirement and the workflow from creation to floor approval can be expressed through a fixed set of statuses.
If the shop needs a searchable, version-controlled program library with access control, a managed transfer workflow, an Import Queue for received programs, and DNC-Max integration, NC-Base delivers all of that without the configuration investment that MDM requires.
For shops new to structured program management, NC-Base is the right first step. Lower implementation cost, faster time to value, and a clear picture of what the system does.
MDM is the right choice when any of the following conditions apply:
- The shop needs to manage CAM files, setup sheets, tool lists, inspection documents, or other file types alongside NC programs in a unified system.
- The approval workflow has more than two steps or requires documented evidence of each transition for quality certification purposes.
- Status-driven access controls need to be defined per file type rather than applied uniformly.
- CAM integration is needed so that the relationship between a CAM file and the NC programs it produces is maintained in the database automatically.
- ERP or MES integration is needed so that program approval events update production records without a manual notification step.
The upgrade path from NC-Base to MDM is architecturally natural. The core concepts carry forward. Program database, version history, status control, Import Queue, and DNC-Max integration. MDM adds the configurable level structure, the workflow engine, and the multi-document management layer on top of that foundation.
Shops that start with NC-Base and grow into MDM are not replacing a system. They are expanding one.
A Note on Implementation Complexity
NC-Base is configured through a Settings dialog with clearly labeled options. A competent administrator can have it running correctly for a shop’s machine mix in a day. The configuration decisions are mostly binary: which fields are required, which statuses are enabled, which user groups get which permissions. The system behaves predictably and the options are self-explanatory.
MDM’s own documentation is explicit in that it is a complex system requiring deep understanding and a well-established plan before configuration begins. That is not a warning to avoid the product. It is an accurate description of what a system that can be configured to match almost any shop’s workflow has to be. The level structure, status definitions, workflow engine, CAM integration settings, and ERP connections all need to be planned before they are built. Getting that planning right the first time is where the implementation investment pays off most clearly.
We Can Help
For shops evaluating MDM, the configuration planning phase is the most important part of the project. We have been implementing MDM installations long enough to know that shops which invest in upfront planning have systems the team uses effectively from day one. The shops who skip it spend months reconfiguring things which were not designed with the actual workflow in mind.
If you are trying to decide between NC-Base and MDM for your shop, or want to understand what an MDM implementation plan looks like before committing, contact us.
We have experience helping shops at both ends of this decision and know how to match the right tool to the actual requirement. We can help you find a winning solution.
