Flexible Manufacturing System

Aris Hendaryanto, S.T., M.Eng.

Program Studi Teknik Mesin SV-UGM
Facility Layout and Work Flow

Arrangement within a factory of:

Machines
Departments
Workstations
Storage areas
Aisles and common areas
Ensures a smooth flow of work, material, people
and information through the system
2
Factory Layout

3 three basic types of layout:

Process
Product
Fixed-Position

3 hybrid layouts (group technology):

Cellular
Flexible Manufacturing Systems
Mixed-model Assembly Lines
3
 Lathe Milling Department Drilling Department
Department
D D D D
M M M
L L
Process Layout L L
D D D D

Grinding Department Painting Department

L L G G G G P

P
L L
Receiving and Shipping
Assembly

A A A

Similar activities grouped together in work areas

Suitable for low volume or batch production
Flexible
Not very efficient
Storage space large receiving, small shipping
Large aisles for movement of material
4
Product Layout
Arrange activities in sequence of operation
Line set up for one product
Specialised machines
Suitable for mass production
More automated than process layouts
Efficient
Line flow avoid bottlenecks
Not flexible

5
Hybrid Layouts

Try to mix flexibility of process layout with

efficiency of product layout.
Cellular Layouts:
o Machines grouped into cells
o Cells process parts with similar features
o Work cell resembles a small assembly line
(product)
o Layout between cells treated as process
layout
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Processed based layout
Assembly

4 7 9
6

5 8

2 10
12

1 3 11

Raw Materials
7
Design of work cell
Assembly

4 8 10 9 12

2 6
11

3 5 7
1

Raw Materials
8
 Group Technology

Group technology (GT) is a

manufacturing philosophy that seeks to
improve productivity by grouping parts
and products with similar
characteristics into families and
forming production cells with a group of
dissimilar machines and processes.
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Production Family

10
Why Group Technology?

Average lot size decreasing

Part variety increasing
Increased variety of materials with
diverse properties
Requirements for closer tolerances

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Key characteristics of a group
technology system:

Components classified into families

Work loads are balanced between
production groups
Production groups are clearly identifiable
on the shop floor
Each group works with a significant degree
of autonomy
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13
 Benefits of Group Technology

Reductions in:

Set-up time Capital expenditures

Overdue orders Tooling costs
Production floor space Engineering time and costs
Raw material stocks New parts design
In-process inventory New shop drawings
Total number of drawings

14
Benefits of Group Technology

Easier to justify automation

Standardization in design
Data retrieval
Easier, more standardized process plans
Increases in quality

15
 Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS)

A flexible manufacturing system (FMS) is a

automated machine cell, consisting of a group of
processing workstations, interconnected with
automated material handling and storage
system.
A flexible manufacturing system (FMS) is a form
of flexible automation in which several machine
tools are linked together by a material-handling
system, and all aspects of the system are
controlled by a central computer. 16
Why FMS?

External changes such as change in

product design and production system.
Optimizing the manufacturing cycle time.
Reduced production costs.
Overcoming internal changes like
breakdowns etc.

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Basic Components of FMS

Workstations.
Automated Material Handling and Storage
systems.
Computer Control System

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 Workstations
Load/Unload Stations
Machining Stations
Other processing stations
Assembly

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 Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV)

Material handling machines

Used to move parts &
equipment in manufacturing

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 Automated Storage and Retrieval
System
Provide for automatic
placement and withdrawal of
parts and products into and
from designated places in a
warehouse.

21
Computer Control

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Flexibility in FMS
Basic flexibility
System flexibility
Agregate flexibility

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Basic Flexibilities of FMS
Machine flexibility - the ease with which a
machine can process various operations.
Material handling flexibility - a measure of the
ease with which different part types can be
transported and properly positioned at the
various machine tools in a system.
Operation flexibility - a measure of the ease
with which alternative operation sequences can
be used for processing a part type.

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System Flexibilities of FMS
Volume flexibility - a measure of a systems capability
to be operated profitably at different volumes of the
existing part types.
Expansion flexibility - the ability to build a system and
expand it incrementally.
Routing flexibility - a measure of the alternative paths
that a part can effectively follow through a system for a
given process plan.
Process flexibility - a measure of the volume of the set
of part types that a system can produce without incurring
any setup.
Product flexibility - the volume of the set of part types
that can be manufactured in a system with minor setup. 25
Aggregate Flexibilities of FMS
Program flexibility - the ability of a system to
run for reasonably long periods without external
intervention.
Production flexibility - the volume of the set of
part types that a system can produce without
major investment in capital equipment.
Market flexibility - the ability of a system to
efficiently adapt to changing market conditions.

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Flexibility Test
1. Part variety test
Can the system process different part styles in a
non-batch mode?
2. Schedule change test
Can the system readily accept changes in the
production schedule, either in the product mix
or the expected production volume?

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Flexibility Test
3. Error recovery test
Can the system recover gracefully from
equipment malfunctions and breakdowns,
so that production is not completely
disrupted?
4. New part test
Can new part designs be introduced into
the existing product mix with relative
ease? 28
FMS & FMC
Early FMSs were large and very complex,
consisting of dozens of CNCs and
sophisticated material handling systems.
They were very automated, very
expensive and controlled by incredibly
complex software.
There were only a limited number of
industries that could afford investing in a
traditional FMS as described above. 29
FMS & FMC
Currently, the trend in FMS is toward small
versions of the traditional FMS, called
Flexible Manufacturing Cells (FMC).

30
FMS & FMC
Today two or more CNC machines are
considered a flexible cell and two or more cells
are considered a flexible manufacturing system.
Thus, a Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS)
consists of several machine tools along with part
and tool handling devices such as robots,
arranged so that it can handle any family of
parts for which it has been designed and
developed.

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Number of Machines

The following three FMSs can be

distinguished in terms of the number of
machines it possesses:
Single machine cell
Flexible manufacturing cell
Flexible manufacturing system

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Single Machine Cell

Contains one machine (often a CNC

machining centre) connected to a parts
storage system, which can load and
unload parts to and from the storage
system.
It is designed to operate in batch mode,
flexible mode, or a combination of the two.

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Single Machine Cell

In flexible mode the system satisfies three

of the four tests for flexibility, the exception
being error recovery, since, if the CNC
machine centre breaks down, the system
stops.

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Single Machine Cell

35
Flexible Manufacturing Cell

Contains two or three processing

workstations (often CNC machining or
turning centres), plus a parts handling
system.
This set-up can operate in flexible mode
and batch mode, as necessary, and can
readily adapt to evolving production
schedule and increased production
volumes. 36
Flexible Manufacturing Cell

Since there is more than one machine,

error recovery is possible by re-routing the
failed machines intended parts for
processing to the other two machines in
the system; and new part designs can be
introduced with relative ease into the set-
up.
The flexible manufacturing cell satisfies all
four flexibility tests. 37
Flexible Manufacturing Cell

38
Flexible Manufacturing System

Consists of four or more processing

stations connected mechanically by a
common parts handling system and
electronically by a distributed computer
system.

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Flexible Manufacturing System

FMS is larger than the flexible

manufacturing cell, not only in the number
of workstations it may contain, but also in
the number of supporting stations in the
system, such as part/pallet washing
stations, co-ordinate measuring machines,
storage stations and so on.

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Flexible Manufacturing System

Computer control is also more

sophisticated; it includes functions not
found in the flexible manufacturing cell
such as diagnostics and tool monitoring.
The FMS satisfies all four flexibility tests.

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Flexible Manufacturing System

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FMS Layout

Progressive or Line Type

Loop Type
Ladder Type
Open Field Type
Robot Centered Type

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Progressive Layout /
Line Type Layout

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Loop Type Layout

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Ladder Type Layout

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Open Field Layout

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Robot Centered Type Layout

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FMS at Vought Aircraft, Dallas US

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Flexible fabricating system for
automated sheet-metal processing

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 Advantages
Faster, lower- cost changes from one part to another which
will improve capital utilization.
Lower direct labor cost, due to the reduction in number of
workers.
Reduced inventory, due to the planning and programming
precision.
Consistent and better quality, due to the automated control.
Lower cost/unit of output, due to the greater productivity
using the same number of workers.
Savings from the indirect labor, from reduced errors,
rework, repairs and rejects.
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 Disadvantages
Limited ability to adapt to changes in product or product
mix (ex. machines are of limited capacity and the tooling
necessary for products, even of the same family, is not
always feasible in a given FMS)
Substantial pre-planning activity
Expensive, costing millions of dollars
Technological problems of exact component positioning
and precise timing necessary to process a component
Sophisticated manufacturing systems

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Computer Integrated Manufacturing
(CIM)
CIM is the integration of the total manufacturing
enterprise through the use of integrated systems
and data communications coupled with new
managerial philosophies that improve
organizational and personnel efficiency.
Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) is the
manufacturing approach of using computers to
control the entire production process

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Computer
Integrated
Manufacturing

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CIM
vs
FMS

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