Frequently asked questions about Fond/Wise
Everything you need to know before choosing ERP software for your foundry.
General questions
What is Fond/Wise?
Fond/Wise is the ERP software developed by RC Informatica specifically for foundries. It covers casting technical data, production planning, heat traceability, quality control, costing, warehouse and finance.
Which kinds of foundry is it for?
Ferrous foundries (grey and ductile iron, steel) and non-ferrous foundries (aluminium, brass, bronze and other alloys), with sand moulding, gravity die or high-pressure die casting.
Does Fond/Wise run in the cloud?
Yes. It can be deployed on Microsoft Azure, Amazon AWS and other cloud platforms, or on-premises on the foundry’s own servers.
How can I see a demo?
Contact RC Informatica via the contact page and we will arrange a demo with a consultant who knows foundries.
What is the difference between FOND/WEB and Fond/Wise?
FOND/WEB is RC Informatica’s original foundry ERP, created in 1994. Fond/Wise is its technological evolution, built on Microsoft technology and usable on PCs, tablets and smartphones, in the cloud or on-premises.
Which areas of the foundry does Fond/Wise cover?
Fond/Wise covers all foundry operations: engineering, production, quality, costing, orders, purchasing, warehouse, logistics and invoicing. The link to your accounting system is defined during analysis.
How much does Fond/Wise cost?
Cost depends on modules, number of users, architecture (cloud or on-premises) and customisation. Contact RC Informatica for an assessment of your foundry.
Technical data, patterns & dies
Can I import the technical sheets I currently keep in Excel?
Yes. During start-up, RC Informatica consultants import existing masters (parts, patterns, cores) and review them with your engineering team before go-live.
Does Fond/Wise handle customer-owned patterns?
Yes. Each pattern records ownership, physical location and condition, so you always know which stored tooling belongs to which customer.
Production planning
Does Fond/Wise replace my production manager?
No. The system proposes a plan consistent with capacity and constraints; decisions stay with the production office, which can change priorities and confirm the schedule.
Do operators need a PC on the shop floor?
Not necessarily. Fond/Wise also runs on tablets and smartphones and can receive data from barcode readers and field systems.
Heat & casting traceability
Does traceability add work for operators?
The goal is the opposite: with barcodes, tablets and field-system integration, data is captured while work happens, without double entry.
Can I trace castings processed by subcontractors?
Yes. Outsourced operations are recorded on the batch with dispatch and return, so the traceability chain is never broken.
Quality, scrap & certificates
Can I customise the certificate layout for each customer?
Yes. Fond/Wise is highly customisable and certificates can be tailored to individual customer requirements.
Can spectrometer analyses be imported automatically?
Yes. Fond/Wise automatically imports chemical analyses from the spectrometer and links them to alloy, heat and certificate.
Costing & quotations
Does costing reflect raw-material price changes?
Yes. Fond/Wise keeps the price history of alloy components and, with split price lists (alloy, cores, processing, packaging), lets you update only the metal component.
Can I see how scrap affects the cost of a casting?
Yes. Scrap cost recorded by the quality module is allocated to parts to show the true margin.
Orders, price lists, warehouse & logistics
What is a split price list?
A price list where the price of a casting, per piece or per kg, is broken down into alloy, cores, processing and packaging. When metal prices change, only the alloy component is updated. Fond/Wise handles per-piece and/or per-kg price lists, simple or split.
Does Fond/Wise connect to my accounting system?
Fond/Wise handles orders, warehouse, logistics and invoicing. How it connects to your accounting system is defined during analysis.
Alloys & chemical analysis
Does Fond/Wise import spectrometer analyses?
Yes. Chemical analyses are imported automatically from the spectrometer and linked to alloy, heat and certificates.
How is melting loss handled?
Each alloy has its own melting loss, which the system includes when calculating component requirements and metal cost.
MES & production tracking
What is the difference between ERP and MES in a foundry?
The ERP plans and manages orders, materials and costs; the MES captures what actually happens on the shop floor: times, quantities, scrap. In Fond/Wise the two are integrated, so MES data immediately updates plan, stock and costs.
Do I need a PC in every department?
No. The Fond/Wise MES works on tablets and mobile devices as well as fixed terminals, including with barcode readers.
Dashboards, IIoT & Industry 4.0
Do I need to replace existing machines to connect them?
Usually not. Integration uses the systems and protocols already present on your equipment, assessed case by case.
Can dashboards be viewed outside the plant?
Yes. Fond/Wise runs on PCs, tablets and smartphones and can be deployed in the cloud, so authorised users can access dashboards remotely.
Want to see Fond/Wise running on your foundry’s data?
Book a demo with the RC Informatica team — foundry software specialists since 1994.