Computer integrated manufacturing

Computer integrated manufacturing can be defined as the system which applies

computer and Communications technology to all functions in manufacturing from order
receipt to product shipment

The scope of CIM

1. Cim not only includes all the functions of of CAD / cam but also includes all the
business functions that are related to manufacturing
2. The scope of CIM is represented in the diagram
3. Under CIM all the operations of manufacturing firms are carried with the help of
computer system
4. This computer system will assist augment and automate the operations.
5. The computer system is networked throughout the firm connecting all the
manufacturing activities
6. In this system the output of one activity serves as input to next activity it starts with
sales order and ends with shipment of the product
 Elements of CIM/ components of CIM:

1. The elements of CIM are as shown in diagram.

2. The customer orders are initially entered into computerized entry system with
product specification.
3. This specification works as an input to the product design department.
4. New products and its components are designed on CAD system. The bill of materials
is generated and assembly drawings are prepared. This is the input to manufacturing
department
5. In manufacturing planning department process planning, tool design and other related
activities are carried out. And process planning is performed using CAPP (Computer
aided process planning). And also tool fixture design is carried out.
6. The output of manufacturing planning becomes the input to manufacturing control.
Material requirement planning and scheduling are performed using the computer.
7. The output of manufacturing control becomes the input for computerized business
systems.It involves order entry, accounting payroll customer building.
Benefits of CIM:

CIM plays a vital role in the economy of the manufacturing system or

enterprise.

The benefits of CIM are indicated as follows:

(i) Products quality improvement.

(ii) Shorter time in launching new product in the market.
(iii) Flow time minimized.
(iv) Inventory level reduced.
(v) Competitiveness increases.
(vi) Improved scheduling performance.
(vii) Shorter vendor lead time.
(viii) Improved customer service.
(ix) Increase in flexibility and responsiveness.
(x) Total cost minimized.
(xi) Long term profitability increases.
(xii) Customers lead time minimized.
(xiii) Manufacturing productivity increases.
(xiv) Work in process inventory decreases
Production facilities:

A manufacturing company attempts to organize its facilities in the most

efficient way to serve the particular mission of each plant. Over the years, certain
types of production facilities have come to be recognized as the most appropriate way
to organize for a given type of manufacturing one of the most important factors that
determine the type of manufacturing is the type of products that are made. The
quantity of parts and/or products made by a factory has a very significant influence on
its facilities and the way manufacturing is organized. Production quantity refers to the
number of units of a given part or product produced annually by the plant. The annual
part or product quantities produced in a given factory can be classified into three
ranges:

1. Low production: Quantities in the range of 1 to 100 units

2. Medium production: Quantities in the range of 100 to 10,000 units

3. High production: Production quantities are 10,000 to millions of units

Low production

This type of production facility usually associated with the quantity range of
1-100 units/ year. This makes low quantities of specialized and customized products.
The products are typically complex, such as experimental aircraft and special
machinery. Job shop production can also include fabricating the component parts for
the products. Customer orders for these kinds of items are often special, and repeat
orders may never occur.

Equipment in a job shop is general purpose and the labour force is highly
skilled. A job shop must be designed for maximum flexibility to deal with the wide
part and product variations encountered (hard product variety). This type of layout is a
fixedposition layout, shown in Figure, in which the product remains in a single
location during its entire fabrication.

Examples of such products include ships, aircraft, railway locomotives, and

heavy machinery.

Medium Production

In the medium quantity range (100–10,000 units annually), two different types
of facility can be distinguished, depending on product variety. Namely,

1. Batch production
2. Cellular manufacturing
 When product variety is more, the traditional approach is batch production, in
which a batch of one product is made, after which the facility is changed over to
produce a batch of the next product, and so on. Orders for each product are frequently
repeated. The production rate of the equipment is greater than the demand rate for any
single product type, and so the same equipment can be shared among multiple
products. The changeover between production runs takes time. Called the setup time
or changeover time, it is the time to change tooling and to set up and reprogram the
machinery. This is lost production time, which is a disadvantage of batch
manufacturing.

When product variety is less, an alternative approach called cellular

manufacturing is used. In this case, extensive changeovers between one product style
and the next may not be required. It is often possible to configure the equipment so
that groups of similar parts or products can be made on the same equipment without
significant lost time for changeovers. The processing or assembly of different parts or
products is accomplished in cells consisting of several workstations or machines.

High production

The high quantity range (10,000 to millions of units per year) is often referred
to as mass production. The situation is characterized by a high demand rate for the
product, and the production facility is dedicated to the manufacture of that product.
Two categories of mass production can be distinguished:

1. Quantity production
2. Flow-line production.

Quantity production involves the mass production of single parts on single

pieces of equipment. The method of production typically involves standard machines
(such as stamping presses) equipped with special tooling (e.g., dies and material
handling devices), in effect dedicating the equipment to the production of one part
type.

Flow-line production involves multiple workstations arranged in sequence,

and the parts or assemblies are physically moved through the sequence to complete
 the product. The workstations consist of production machines and/or workers
equipped with specialized tools.

Manufacturing Support Systems

1. The functions such as design planning and control of production orders are
accomplished by manufacturing support system.
2. Manufacturing support system is the people and procedures by which the Company
manages its production operations
3. Manufacturing support system has a set of activities as shown in figure( set of
information processing activity).
4. Manufacturing support system ( the information processing cycle) has four
functions.
a. Business function
b. Product design
c. Manufacturing planning
d. Manufacturing control
 a. Business function:
1. Business functions is the beginning and end of information processing cycle.
2. Sales and marketing, sales forecasting, order entry, cost accounting and customer
billing fall under business function.
3. The production order will be in one of the following form
a) an order to manufacture an item to the customer’s specification
b) a customer order to buy one or more products
c) an internal company order based on demand for the product.
b. Product design:
Product needs to be manufactured according to the design given by
customer by the product design department
c. Manufacturing planning
The information and documentation that constitute product design is
given to manufacturing planning
Process planning, master scheduling, requirements planning and capacity planning
are carried out in manufacturing planning.
a. Process planning: It determines the sequence of processes
b. Master Schedule: It creates list of products to be made with date to be delivered.
c. Material requirement planning: Based on Master schedule components and sub-
assemblies are planned. Raw materials are purchased. This entire task is material
requirement planning
d. Capacity planning: It is concerned with planning manpower and machinery
Manufacturing control:
It is related to managing and controlling of factory operations it involves inventory
control and quality control
a. Shop floor control: It monitors the progress of the product( through processing
assembly transport)
b. Inventory control: on inventory related issues are controlled here thus trying to
create a balance
c. Quality control: Quality control in shows the quality of the product. It also makes
sure that the component meet the standards specified by the designer.

Automated manufacturing systems:

Automated manufacturing systems operate in the factory on the physical product.
They
perform operations such as processing, assembly, inspection, and material handling etc. They
are called automated because they perform their operations with a reduced level of human
participation compared with the corresponding manual process. In some highly automated
systems, there is virtually no human participation. Examples of automated manufacturing
systems include:
Automated manufacturing systems can be classified into three basic types:
(1) Fixed automation,
(2) Programmable automation, and
(3) Flexible automation.
Fixed Automation:
Fixed automation is a system in which the sequence of processing (or assembly)
operations is fixed by the equipment configuration.
Each operation in the sequence is usually simple, involving plain linear or rotational
motion or combination of the two.
It is the integration and coordination of many such operations in one piece of
equipment that makes the system complex.
Features of fixed automation are
(1) high initial investment
(2) high production rates, and
(3) inflexibility of the equipment to accommodate product variety.
Programmable Automation:

In programmable automation, the production equipment is designed with the

capability to change the sequence of operations to accommodate different product
configurations.

The operation sequence is controlled by a program, which is a set of instructions

coded so that they can be read and interpreted by the system.

New programs can be prepared and entered into the equipment to produce new
products.

Features of programmable automation are

(1) high investment in general-purpose equipment,

 (2) lower production rates than fixed automation,
(3) flexibility to deal with variations and changes in product configuration, and
(4) high suitability for batch production.
Flexible Automation:

Flexible automation is an extension of programmable automation. A flexible

automated system is capable of producing a variety of parts or products with virtually no time
lost for changeovers from one design to the next.

There is no lost production time while reprogramming the system and altering the
physical setup (tooling, fixtures, machine settings).

Accordingly, the system can produce various mixes and schedules of parts or products
instead of requiring that they be made in batches. What makes flexible automation possible is
that the differences between parts processed by the system are not significant, so the amount
of changeover between designs is minimal.

Features of flexible automation include

(1) high investment for a custom-engineered system,

(2) continuous production of variable mixtures of parts or products,
(3) medium production rates, and
(4) flexibility to deal with product design variations.
Computerized Manufacturing Support Systems:

Automation of the manufacturing support systems is aimed at reducing the amount of

manual and clerical effort in product design, manufacturing planning and control, and

the business functions of the firm.

Manufacturing support systems are implemented using computers.

Computer technology is used to implement automation of the manufacturing systems

in the factory as well.

Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) denotes the use of computer systems to

design the products, plan the production, control the operations, and perform the various
information processing functions needed in a manufacturing firm.
 Computer-integrated manufacturing involves the information-processing activities
that provide the data and knowledge required to successfully produce the product.

These activities are accomplished to implement the four basic manufacturing support
functions identified earlier: (1) business functions, (2) product design, (3) manufacturing
planning, and (4) manufacturing control

Reasons for Automating:

1. Increase labor productivity.

2. Reduce labor cost.
3. Mitigate the effects of labor shortages.
4. Reduce or eliminate routine manual and clerical tasks.
5. Improve worker safety.
6. Improve product quality.
7. Reduce manufacturing lead time.
8. Accomplish processes that cannot be done manually.
9. Avoid the high cost of not automating.
Automation Principles and Strategies

(1) the USA Principle,

(2) Ten Strategies for Automation and Process Improvement, and
(3) an Automation Migration Strategy.

The USA Principle

USA stands for

(1) understand the existing process,

(2) simplify the process, and
(3) automate the process.
Understand the Existing Process.

The first step in the USA approach is to understand the current process. What are the
inputs? What are the outputs? What exactly happens to the work?What is the function of the
process? How does it add value to the product? What are the upstream and downstream
operations in the production sequence, and can they be combined with the process under
consideration?

Then operation chart and flow process charts are generated.

Application of these tools to the existing process provides a model of the process that can be
analyzed and searched for weaknesses (and strengths). This information may be valuable in
identifying what output variables need to be measured for feedback purposes and in
formulating algorithms for automatic process control.

Simplify the Process.

Once the existing process is understood, then the search begins for ways to simplify.
This often involves a checklist of questions about the existing process. What is the purpose of
this step or this transport? Is the step necessary? Can it be eliminated? Does it use the most
appropriate technology? How can it be simplified? Are there unnecessary steps in the process
that might be eliminated without detracting from function?

Can steps be combined? Can steps be performed simultaneously? Can steps be integrated into
a manually operated production line?

Automate the Process.

Once the process has been reduced to its simplest form, then automation can be
considered. The possible forms of automation include those listed in the ten strategies
discussed in the following section. An automation migration strategy might be implemented
for a new product that has not yet proven itself.

Ten Strategies for Automation and Process Improvement

1. Specialization of operations.
2. Combined operations.
3. Simultaneous operations.
4. Integration of operations.
5. Increased flexibility
6. Improved material handling and storage.
7. On-line inspection.
8. Process control and optimization.
9. Plant operations control.
10. Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM).
Automation:

Automation can be defined as the technology by which a process or procedure is

accomplished without human assistance. It is implemented using a program of instructions
combined with a control system that executes the instructions. To automate a process, power
is required, both to drive the process itself and to operate the program and control system

Basic Elements of an Automated System

An automated system consists of three basic elements:

(1) power to accomplish the process and operate the system,

(2) a program of instructions to direct the process, and
(3) a control system to actuate the instructions.
The relationship among these elements is illustrated in Figure below.

Power to accomplish the process:

Automated system is used to operate on Profit and power is required to drive the
process as well as controls. There are many sources of power available, but the most
commonly used power is electricity. The actions performed by automated systems are
generally of two types.
a. Processing: to carry out entire operation power is required.
b. Transfer and positioning: power is required only for placement and positioning of the
product.
Program of Instructions
 The actions performed by an automated process are defined by a program of
instructions. Whether the manufacturing operation involves low, medium, or high production,
each part or product requires one or more processing steps that are unique to that part or
product. These processing steps are performed during a work cycle. A new part is completed
at the end of each work cycle (in some manufacturing operations, more than one part is
produced during the work cycle: for example, a plastic injection molding operation may
produce multiple parts each cycle using a multiple cavity mold). The particular processing
steps for the work cycle are specified in a work cycle program, called part programs in
numerical control

Control System

The control element of the automated system executes the program of instructions. The
control system causes the process to accomplish its defined function, which is to perform
some manufacturing operation. A brief introduction to control systems is provided here.

The controls in an automated system can be either closed loop or open loop.

Closed loop control system:

Fig: Closed loop control system,

A closed loop control system, also known as a feedback control system, is one
in which the output variable is compared with an input parameter, and any difference
between the two is used to drive the output into agreement with the input. As shown
in Figure, a closed-loop control system consists of six basic elements:

(1) input parameter,

(2) process,
(3) output variable,
(4) feedback sensor,
 (5) controller, and
(6) actuator.
The input parameter (i.e., set point) represents the desired value of the output.

Open-loop control system:

An open-loop control system operates without the feedback loop, as in Figure. In this
case, the controls operate without measuring the output variable, so no comparison is made
between the actual value of the output and the desired input parameter. With an open-loop
system, there is always the risk that the actuator will not have the intended effect on the
process, and that is the disadvantage of an open-loop system. Its advantage is that it is
generally simpler and less expensive than a closed-loop system.

Open-loop systems are usually appropriate when the following conditions apply:

(1) the actions performed by the control system are simple,

(2) the actuating function is very reliable, and

(3) any reaction forces opposing the actuator are small enough to have no effect on
the actuation.

If these characteristics are not applicable, then a closed-loop control system may be more
appropriate.

Levels of automation:
1. Device level.
This is the lowest level in the automation hierarchy. It includes the actuators,
sensors, and other hardware components that comprise the machine level. The
devices are combined into the individual control loops of the machine, for
example, the feedback control loop for one axis of a CNC machine or one
joint of an industrial robot.
2. Machine level.
Hardware at the device level is assembled into individual machines. Examples
include CNC machine tools and similar production equipment, industrial
robots, powered conveyors, and automated guided vehicles. Control functions
at this level include performing the sequence of steps in the program of
instructions in the correct order and making sure that each step is properly
executed.
3. Cell or system level.
This is the manufacturing cell or system level, which operates under
instructions from the plant level. A manufacturing cell or system is a group of
machines or workstations connected and supported by a material handling
system, computer, and other equipment appropriate to the manufacturing
process. Production lines are included in this level. Functions include part
 dispatching and machine loading, coordination among machines and material
handling system, and collecting and evaluating inspection data.
4. Plant level.
This is the factory or production systems level. It receives instructions from
the corporate information system and translates them into operational plans for
production. Likely functions include order processing, process planning,
inventory control, purchasing, material requirements planning, shop floor
control, and quality control.
5. Enterprise level.
This is the highest level, consisting of the corporate information system. It is
concerned with all of the functions necessary to manage the company:
marketing and sales, accounting, design, research, aggregate planning, and
master production scheduling. The corporate information system is usually
managed using Enterprise Resource Planning