Answer : Flexible manufacturing systems are most often used when small relative to mass production , customized batches of products are required . A small single manufacturing cell can consist of varying kinds of production , material handling , and computer control modules . Contrast design capacity and effective capacity.
What is flexible manufacturing system, and under what set of circumstances is it most appropriate? Answer: Flexible manufacturing systems are most often used when small relative to mass production, customized batches of products are required. A small single manufacturing cell can consist of varying kinds of production, material handling, and computer control modules.
Step 1 of 3. A flexible manufacturing system (FMS) is a group of machines that include supervisory computer control, automatic material handling and automated processing equipment. They are designed to handle intermittent processing requirements with some of the benefits of automation and flexibility of individual or standalone machines.
A flexible manufacturing system. The main advantages of an FMS is its high flexibility in managing manufacturing resources like time and effort to manufacture a new product. The best application of an FMS is found in the batch production of small sets of products. View chapter Purchase book. Read full chapter.
Flexible manufacturing systems are most often used when small (relative to mass production), customized batches of products are required. A “small” single manufacturing cell can consist of varying kinds of production, material handling, and computer control modules.Sep 17, 2019
A flexible manufacturing system (FMS) can improve efficiency and thus lower a company's production cost. Flexible manufacturing also can be a key component of a make-to-order strategy that allows customers to customize the products they want. Such flexibility can come with higher upfront costs.
Flexible Manufacturing Group (FMG). Example : Two FMCs, a FMM and two AGVs which will transport parts from a Part Loading area, through machines, to a Part Unloading Area; Flexible Production Systems (FPS).
What are the three capabilities that a manufacturing system must possess in order to be flexible? Answer: As identified in the text, the three capabilities are (1) identification of the different work units, (2) quick changeover of operating instructions, and (3) quick changeover of the physical setup. Chapter 23: 1.
AdvantagesReduced manufacturing cost.Lower cost per unit produced,Greater labor productivity,Greater machine efficiency,Improved quality,Increased system reliability,Reduced parts inventories,Adaptability to CAD/CAM operations.More items...
A flexible manufacturing system (FMS) is a manufacturing system that contains enough flexibility to allow the system to rapidly react to production changes. This flexibility is generally considered to fall into two categories. The first is machine flexibility.
What is a Flexible Manufacturing System? A group of highly automated GT machine cells or workstations, interconnected by an automated material handling and storage system, and controlled by an integrated computer system.
Let's quickly discuss each advantage of Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS).Large variety of same products. Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) can produce a large variety of the same type (homogeneous) of products.Profitable investment. ... Requires limited inventory. ... Low labour cost. ... Flexible system. ... Speedy production.Feb 18, 2012
Stated formally, the general objectives of an FMS are to approach the efficiencies and economies of scale normally associated with mass production, and to maintain the flexibility required for small- and medium-lot-size production of a variety of parts.
1). It is capable of (1) processing different part styles, (2) responding to changes in production schedule, and (4) accepting new part introductions. Criterion (3),error recovery, cannot be satisfied because if the single machine breaks down, production stops.Nov 17, 2016
Some characteristics that differentiate Flexible Manufacturing System from conventional manufacturing systems are their technical flexibility, i.e., the ability to quickly change mix, routing, and sequence of operations within the parts envelope and also complexity resulting from the integration, mechanization, and ...
The flexible manufacturing cell consists of one or several CNC machine tools or machining centers. The unit can automatically change tools and fixtures as needed to machine different workpieces. Definition.
Flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) process the workpiece from where it may be stored through the welding process and onto its final location in the factory (see Figure 15.8 ). They can have several positions for loading and unloading the pallets carrying the workpieces. Systems may use one or more robots, and several different types of work- pieces can be welded one after the other, with only short changeover times. The use of buffer stocks enables production to continue completely unattended for some time. The entire facility is monitored and controlled by a supervisory computer system.
Controller area network (CAN) was developed mainly for the automobile industry, and is now popular in factory automation. It transmits at 1Mbps and uses twisted-pair cable for up to 40 devices. Its main features are:
In recent years another kind of water-based coolant, the 'synthetic’ or non-petroleum cutting fluid, has been used increasingly. Coolants of this kind contain agents that provide the necessary lubricating and anti-corrosion properties. They were originally introduced to satisfy the special demands of grinding operations, but now they have been developed to a state where they can cope with general machining requirements. Their use in CNC machines and flexible manufacturing systems is a significant result of this development.
Automated welding may be used to create metal shapes from deposited weld metal. Electroslag welding and submerged arc welding have been used in the past with simple rotators to deposit large pressure vessel shells. More recently robotic GMAW and GTAW processes have been employed to create more complex shapes. The robotic approach employs offline programming techniques to translate computer aided designs (CAD) from a package such as Autocad to the native programming language of the robot [ 288 ]. The robot follows the prescribed path to generate the required shape; building successive weld beads on top of each other. The process is a very rapid means of preparing a solid metal object directly from a CAD drawing and, providing the process parameters are optimized, the resultant metal has been shown to be sound and to possess mechanical properties that are at least equivalent to those of a casting.
Intel introduced the BITBUS for remote I/O capability to multibus systems. It allows programs to be downloaded and executed in a remote node for truly distributed system configurations. Its outline specification is
The integration is a wide-ranging and complex research topic, which may include virtual manufacturing, relative organization changes and many others.
Off-line programming allows the robot program to be developed on a remote workstation and transferred to the robot controller almost instantaneously. Various systems are available for off-line programming (e.g. GRASP, IGRIP and ROBCAD), but these share the following characteristics:
FMS not only brings flexibility but also increases responsiveness on the manufacturing floor. FMS enables manufacturers to develop products of wide variety on few machines with lesser number of staff, productively, predictably and reliably. FMS provides round-the-clock availability of automated equipment.
Disadvantages of FMS: • FMS is a very sophisticated system and technologically advanced hence it requires very high level planning. • FMS requires very high capital investment. • Worker education and training on the sophisticated equipments is an added cost. • Requires considerable amount of time to be developed.
These flexibilities can be; • Machine Flexibility: It can be defined as the capability of machines to produce a wide range of product designs that may require different production techniques.