From Design to Production: Connecting the Digital Thread

Beyond design and engineering, connect planning, production, quality, and delivery in one continuous workflow for increased accuracy and efficiency.

Extend the Digital Thread Onto the Shop Floor

The digital thread shouldn't stop when a design is released to manufacturing. Valuable information is created at every stage, from CAD and customer requirements to material planning, scheduling, production, quality, and delivery. When that information gets disconnected, teams re-enter data, chase updates, and make decisions with incomplete information.

In this session, we explore how modern MRP/MES technology connects engineering data with quoting, planning, scheduling, shop-floor execution, and business systems. You'll see practical examples of how a connected digital thread reduces manual work, improves visibility, and helps manufacturers respond faster as jobs, materials, schedules, and customer requirements change.

StartProto MES job traveler with a part drawing shown on a desktop monitor in a machine shop

Why Attend?

Find Where the Thread Breaks

Understand where the digital thread most often breaks down between engineering and manufacturing.

Keep Data Flowing From CAD to Production

See how engineering information moves into quoting, planning, and production without re-entry, and how real-time production data improves scheduling and material planning.

Put AI to Work on Your Data

Explore how AI can turn connected manufacturing data into actionable recommendations, not just more dashboards.

Your Speakers

Tim Felbinger

Founder & CEO at StartProto

Tim Felbinger is the Founder and CEO of StartProto, a manufacturing software company focused on modernizing production operations through data-driven systems and agentic AI. Tim began his formal career in engineering, working at BMW in Munich before returning to the United States to lead a prototyping lab at Georgia Tech. There, he worked closely with suppliers and manufacturers, gaining firsthand insight into the inefficiencies, manual processes, and labor constraints facing small and mid-sized production environments. StartProto was born from that experience—initially to help suppliers operate more predictably and efficiently—and has since evolved into a manufacturing operating system that integrates scheduling, planning, and AI-driven automation.