ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY-

AUTOMATION OF
PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

ROBOTICS/CAD/CAM/CIM/FMS

LECTURE 6(b)

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1. TECHNOLOGY & COMPETITIVENESS
▪Technology refers to the skills, knowledge,
experience, body of scientific knowledge,
tools, computers, machines used in the design
and production of goods and services.
▪In today's global arena, to achieve these
requirements, business firms need to be
flexible, adaptable and responsive to changes
and be able to produce a variety of products in
the shortest time and at lower cost
✓ Non price factors such as quality, flexibility and
delivery speed are the preliminary determinants
for the success of a product

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 TECHNOLOGY & COMPETITIVENESS
▪The above situation has led businesses to search
for advanced technologies in the endeavour to
achieve world classness giving rise to the concept
of world class organization:
✓ World class manufacturer
✓ World class university
✓ World class airline

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 2. Technology and Operations
Management
▪ In last decade or so, technology has
changed the way organizations conduct
their businesses
1. Moved from development of products into
design, management to improvement of
operating systems and processes.
2. Advent of technology in operations
management has increased productivity of
organizations.

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 Technology and Operations
Management
3. Usage of technology in operations
management has ensured that organizations
are able to reduce the cost, improve the
delivery process, standardize and improve
quality and focus on customization, thereby
creating value for customers.
4. Technology drives efficiency in
organizations and increases productivity of
the organization.

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3. Adoption of Advanced Technologies
▪Businesses continue to search for advanced
technologies in the endeavour to achieve world
classness giving rise to the concept of world
class organization:
➢ World class manufacturer
➢ World class university
➢ World class airline

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4. Robotics & Automation Technologies
Automation
▪ The integration of the total manufacturing
enterprise through the use of integrated
production infrastructure systems and data
communications coupled with new managerial
philosophies which results in the improvement of
the overall competitiveness of the business
Robotics
➢Programmable manipulators
➢Follow specified paths/actions
➢Better than humans with respect to:
•Hostile Environments
•Long Hours
•No fatigue
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5. Japan -World Class Manufacturer?

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6. Kenya - WCM?

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7. CAD/CAM/ROBOTICS

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 8. Computer-Aided Design (CAD)
▪Use of computer systems to
assist in the creation,
modification, analysis, and
optimization of a design
➢Defines the geometry of the design
➢Both Hardware and Software
➢CAD software is used to increase
the productivity of the designer,
improve the quality of design,
improve communications through
documentation, and to create
adidgital database for
manufacturing

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 What is CAD?
▪The most fundamental definition of product
design is the process by which one efficiently
and effectively generates concepts which
lead to new products
▪Product design used to be a process where
idea and concept generation happened with
sketches on the drawing board
➢From which industrial designers would then
capture the details of the sketch in pencil, pen,
or marker.
➢Now done through CAD

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 What is CAD?
▪Computer Aided Design (CAD) is that part of
the product design process by which designs
can be created as 3D models
➢Instead of being confined to a 2D sketch
➢by using CAD software, you can create a 3D model
that can be surfaced and shaped to meet your
design goals.
▪One of the benefits of this over the
traditional method is the potential time and
cost savings for design iterations and even
prototyping.
➢Based on customer requirements, design and
manufacturing teams can immediately improve the
existing product design or can develop an entirely
new product
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 9. Computer-Aided Manufacturing
(CAM)
▪Use of computer systems to
plan, manage, and control
manufacturing operations
▪Direct or indirect computer
interface with the plant’s
production resources
▪Numerical(computer) control
of machine tools and
Programming of robots(CNC)

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 10.CAD-CAM; A summary
1. CAD can be defined as the use of computerized
systems to perform certain functions in the
design process.
2. CAM is the use of computer systems to plan,
manage and control the operations of a
manufacturing plant through either direct or
indirect computer interface with the plant’s
production infrastructure
➢ CAD-CAM denotes an integration of design and
manufacturing activities by means of computer
systems.
3. CAD-CAM = Computer Aided Design and
Computer Aided Manufacturing

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 11. ROLE OF CAD/CAM IN CIM
▪With conventional procedures practiced for so
many years in industry, engineering drawings
were prepared by design draftsmen and later
used by manufacturing engineers to develop
the process plan.
▪The activities involved in designing the product
were separated from the activities associated
with process planning.
➢Essentially a two-step procedure was employed.
➢This was time-consuming and involved duplication of
effort by design and manufacturing personnel
▪The scope of CIM, compared with the more
limited scope of CAD/CAM, is depicted in the
Figure below
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ROLE OF CAD/CAM IN CIM

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 12.Computer-Integrated
Manufacturing (CIM)
▪CIM basically involves the integration of
advanced technologies such as CAD, CAM, ICT
and Robots
➢Thus, the use of computers and automation
technologies making the manufacturing industry
capable to provide rapid response to the changing
needs of customers
▪CIM stands for a holistic and methodological
approach to the activities of the enterprise in
order to achieve vast improvements in its
performance
➢CIM requires all those associated with the business
firm to involve totally in the process of product
development and its manufacture
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 BENEFITS OF CIM
▪Implementing a CIM system several things
could be improved
▪A number of improvements have been
reported; including:
➢Gain in quality
➢Gain in overall production volumes
➢Reduction in overall lead times
➢Reduction in work in progress inventories
➢Reduction in engineering design costs

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 Key Objectives of CIM
1. Aautomate production processes and
business functions that support them with
computers, machines and robots
➢To eliminate paper and the costs associated with
the production system
2. Simplify production processes, product
design and factory organisation
➢These are vital foundations to automation and
integration
3. To increase speed, reduce lead times, costs
and inventory

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 Key Objectives of CIM
4. Integrate all, production and support
processes using computer networks, cross-
functional business software and other
information technologies
➢An ERP to coordinate and organize data
effectively; nerve centre

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 13.FMS
▪Conventional manufacturing systems have been
marked by one of two distinct features:
➢ The capability of producing a variety of
different product types, but at a high cost (e.g.,
job shops).
➢ The capability of producing large volumes of a
product at a lower cost, but very inflexible in
terms of the product types which can be
produced (e.g., assembly lines).
▪How do we strike a balance between a job shop
and an assembly line?
➢ A FMS is designed to provide both of these
features.
▪A FMS is a “reprogrammable” manufacturing
system capable of producing a wide variety of
products, at low cost, automatically
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 FMS
▪A flexible manufacturing system (FMS) is
a form of flexible automation in which
several machine tools are linked together
by a materials-handling system, and all
aspects of the system are controlled by a
central computer.
➢A FMS is distinguished from an automated
production line by its ability to process more
than one product design simultaneously
➢At any moment, each machine in the system
may be processing a different parts type
▪Complete control of the manufacturing system
by the host computer
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 Benefits of FMS
▪FMS systems have the following
benefits:
➢ Reduced unit costs
➢ Reduced direct and indirect labor
➢ Consistent and better quality
➢ Wider variety of output
➢ Reduced manufacturing lead-times
➢ Reduced work in process inventories
➢ Increased machine utilization
➢ Better management control

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A Flexible Manufacturing System
Computer
control
room
Tools

Conveyor

Machine Machine

Pallet

Load Unload

Terminal Finished
Parts 30
goods
 FMS Example
One Design + One Assembly Process = Multiple
Models

▪ When different models are designed to be assembled in