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Profitability for sheet metal fabrication

More profitability.More orders.Less waste.

X-SHARE calculates every order in minutes – automatically, based on real machine data. Use spare capacity profitably, win more orders and never lose another one to the competition.

Calculate and secure an orderX-SHARE Ready
  • Win more orders
  • Use every free hour
  • Less waste
  • Calculated in minutes
A sheet metal part with two paths branching from it: produce it yourself, or have it made in the network.
  1. 1Upload CAD
  2. 2Quote automatically
  3. 3Decide MAKE or SHARE
  4. 4Find matching capability
  5. 5Confirm the order

Your entry point

Three ways to manufacture more profitably.

Every entry point feeds the same equation: more orders, better utilisation, less idle capacity.

Why calculation comes first

Only those who calculate first work profitably.

The key to more orders, better utilisation and less waste is the same: you must know what an order really costs – before you commit. X-SHARE calculates automatically, in minutes, based on real machine data instead of planning values.

MAKE OR SHARE: A request becomes a fulfilled order.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5

1Upload CAD

Drop a CAD file
XSH-PLATE_01.stp

2Quote automatically

  • Part recognised
  • MaterialStainless 1.4301
  • Quantity25 pcs
  • Delivery date18 Oct 2026

Powered by goCAD

3Decide MAKE or SHARE

MAKE

Produce in-house

SHARE

Fulfil in the network

4Find matching capability

Matching X-SHARE Ready capabilities

  • Verified
    Capacity available
    Send request
  • Verified
    Capacity available
    Send request
  • Verified
    Capacity available
    Send request

5Confirm the order

Order confirmed

A binding status, not another email chasing an answer.

Profitability

Profitability arises in three places — X-SHARE acts on all three.

Effort per request, utilisation of your machines and material use.

Pilot target corridors

  • 50–80%

    less manual calculation and coordination effort

  • 5–15%

    higher process productivity

  • +3 to +10 pts

    additional usable utilisation

  • Utilisation · Example calculation

    At around 2,000 instead of 850 cutting hours per year, the hourly rate of a comparable €250,000 machine drops by up to 23% — from €147/h to €114/h.

    Example calculation, not a guaranteed effect for an individual business.

  • Material · Worked example

    If material utilisation rises from 80 to 85 percent, that means 5.9% less raw material for the same quantity of good parts — roughly €44,000 of material benefit on €1m annual purchasing.

    Example with €1,000/t purchase price, €250/t scrap revenue, before fees and additional costs.

  • Europe · Long-term scenario

    Extrapolating the same improvement to an assumed cutting pool of 20 million t of steel gives a model potential of roughly €0.88 bn of material benefit per year.

    Scenario calculation, not a measured X-SHARE effect and not a market forecast.

Today

  • Manual review
  • Excel quoting
  • One-off enquiries

With X-SHARE

  • Quote automatically
  • MAKE or SHARE
  • Market capacity

CAD/CAM · Nesting · CNC

From order to CNC program — right in your factory.

With PROfirst CAM you create CNC programs and nestings for your cutting machines. The software runs on-premise and is connected to the X-SHARE Suite via the Factory Server.

Target state · Interface in planning

X-SHARE platform · Network
  • CalculationgoCAD · price from geometry, material and machine
  • Quote & orderCustomer confirms, order is created
  • Network & matchingMatch capability and capacity
Target state

Interface in planning

The connection of PROfirst CAM to the X-SHARE Suite will be implemented in the project. The illustration shows the planned data flow, not a finished function.

Your factory · On-premise

IndustryFusion Factory Server AI

X-SHARE Suite

Runs in your factory

  • Orders
  • Capacity & schedules
  • Process data (PDT)
  • Quality proof

Your data stays with you — the network sees only what you release.

CAD/CAM · Nesting · CNC

On-premise

PROfirst CAM

  • ULTRA Nesting
  • CNC programs
  • Laser · Plasma · Oxy-fuel · Waterjet
  • Bevelling · Drilling
  • Remnant sheet & part management
  • ERP interface

Vendor-independent — for cutting machines from different manufacturers.

X-SHARE Ready machineAn X-SHARE Ready laser cutting machine
  1. 1Order + CAD dataThe X-SHARE calculation hands the confirmed order and part data to the Suite on the Factory Server.
  2. 2Parts to PROfirst CAMThe Suite provides parts, material and quantity — on-premise, without data leaving the factory.
  3. 3Nesting and time backPROfirst CAM reports nesting, material utilisation and processing time back — the basis for schedule and capacity.
  4. 4CNC program to the machineThe finished CNC program goes straight to the X-SHARE Ready machine.
  5. 5Process data backThe Process Data Twin reports state and progress to the Suite via OPC UA and MQTT.
  6. 6Status to the platformDelivery commitment and order status flow back to the customer from the machine state — the customer stays with the fabricator.

  • Programming and nesting at factory level

    ULTRA Nesting, technologies for laser, plasma, oxy-fuel and waterjet as well as bevelling and drilling — CNC programs are created right where the machine stands.

  • One data flow from quote to machine

    Calculation, order, nesting and CNC program hang on one continuous data set — no re-entry and no media breaks.

  • Connected vendor-independently

    PROfirst CAM programs cutting machines from different manufacturers — connected via the open X-SHARE Ready standard rather than a proprietary interface.

PROfirst

Long-standing partnership

PROfirst CAM for your production.

MicroStep and PROfirst have worked closely together for many years. In the X-SHARE project we are expanding this partnership and recommend PROfirst CAM for programming and nesting on the new X-Series.

Scope of functions per profirst-group.com · PROfirst is a trademark of PROfirst Group.

Request PROfirst CAM

The open machine standard

X-SHARE Ready: open to every machine.

New machine or existing fleet — X-SHARE Ready connects your production to a growing network, independent of the manufacturer.

The first portfolio built to the standard from the factory is the MicroStep Industry X-Series, powered by ACCURL. More manufacturers and processes will follow.

View X-SHARE Ready machinesConnect an existing machine
1
open standard · for every manufacturer
OPC UA
at the machine · MQTT to the network
IFRIC
unique machine ID · the basis for proof
MicroStep Industry MasterLine X, X-SHARE ReadyX-SHAREREADY

First X-SHARE Ready PortfolioMicroStep Industry X-SeriesPowered by ACCURL

What X-SHARE Ready means

A machine that explains its own capabilities.

X-SHARE Ready means: the machine is connected according to the open IndustryFusion standard — uniquely identifiable, with its own Process Data Twin and connected to the network in real time.

  1. Machine

    Any machine with an OPC UA-capable controller — e.g. the MicroStep Industry X-Series

  2. Process Data Twin

    Capabilities, state and identity machine-readable

  3. IndustryFusion Gateway

    Semantic data in real time, via MQTT

  4. X-SHARE network

    Capacity becomes visible, comparable and bookable

  • Unique identity

    Every machine receives a globally unique ID via IFRIC — the basis for proof and trust in the network.

  • Process Data Twin

    Capabilities, state and availability exist as a twin — developed together with Intel.

  • Open interfaces

    OPC UA at the machine, MQTT to the network. Vendor-independent — also for third-party machines and controllers.

  • Sovereign data

    You decide what the network sees. Your customers and prices stay with you.

What you get

An investment that pays off through every otherwise idle hour.

  1. Make spare capacity visible

    Free machine windows become bookable as an offer in the network — without handing over your customers.

  2. Commitments from machine state

    Commitments are based on the actual state of the machine rather than planning values.

  3. Prove quality with process data

    Proof comes from the machine's data — not from random samples or mere assurances.

An open, vendor-independent standard

More manufacturers and processes are being added continuously.

Already proven in the proof of concept on ACCURL machines with Eckelmann controllers — X-SHARE Ready is a standard, not a feature of a single manufacturer.

Connect an existing machineBecome a partner
  • Laser cuttingAvailable
  • BendingPilot
  • DeburringPilot
  • WeldingPlanned
  • MorePlanned

The first portfolio

MicroStep Industry X-Series, powered by ACCURL

Five series from compact laser cutting to large format — X-SHARE Ready from the factory. Photos, technical data and quotes on the portfolio page.

  • Smart Compact X
  • MasterLine X
  • SmartLine X
  • Smart Cube X
  • Smart Giant X
Compare all series

Trust & data sovereignty

Share without giving up control.

X-SHARE connects registered companies through sovereign data rooms. You decide which information is released, for which order, and to which partner.

  • Registered companies
  • Visible verification status
  • Selective data release
  • Unambiguous identities

Released for this order

  • Part geometry
  • Material and quantity
  • Delivery date
  • Machine capability

Not released

  • End customer
  • Selling price and margin
  • Full capacity plan

Your customers stay your customers — the member owns the relationship, not the platform.

Manufacturing as a Service for Europe

A strong network for a sovereign, competitive Europe.

Starting from Bavaria, X-SHARE connects manufacturing sites across the entire continent — into a resilient European production network that keeps value creation in Europe and strengthens its industrial competitiveness.

MunichHanoverBerlinCologneFrankfurtStuttgartNurembergAmsterdamPragueViennaZurichBudapestMilanParisLondonDublinWarsawBucharestMadridLisbonAthensStockholmCopenhagen

Schematic illustration of the network principle – not a map of existing sites.

  • German sites — dense core network around Munich
  • International sites — connected across Europe

Partners

Strong partners. One open standard.

X-SHARE connects machines, controllers and software from different manufacturers. These partners contribute the technology, the data and the software.

  • Technology partner

    Process Data Twin — developed together with Intel

    The Process Data Twin makes the capabilities, state and identity of every machine machine-readable. Intel works with the IndustryFusion Foundation on the twin and the edge runtime.

    Process Data Twin · Edge

  • Controller partner

    ECKELMANN

    The open standard — proven on a third-party controller

    In the proof of concept, X-SHARE Ready runs on ACCURL machines with Eckelmann controllers, connected via OPC UA. The proof: X-SHARE Ready is a standard, not a feature of one manufacturer.

    Proof of Concept · OPC UA
  • PROfirst

    CAD/CAM · Nesting

    CNC programs and nesting at factory level

    PROfirst CAM runs on-premise and is connected to the X-SHARE Suite via the Factory Server.

    In planning
  • goCAD

    Calculation

    Calculation and quote data

    goCAD provides the calculation core: prices from geometry, material and machine, integrated into the X-SHARE interface.

  • MicroStep×ACCURL

    Machines

    X-Series, X-SHARE Ready from the factory

    The MicroStep Industry X-Series, powered by ACCURL, is the first machine portfolio built to the X-SHARE Ready standard.

Open, vendor-independent standard. Together with the IndustryFusion Foundation and IFRIC — for unique identities and a capability directory. Further manufacturers and software partners are welcome.

Become a partner

Trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Free · no obligation · in minutes

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Processes in the network

  1. 1 · AvailableLaser cutting
  2. 2 · PilotBending · Deburring
  3. 3 · PlannedMaterial · Logistics · further processes