Flexible Manufacturing

Systems (FMS)
 What Is A Flexible Manufacturing
System?
Flexible Manufacturing
System:
- A system that
consists of numerous
programmable machine tools
connected by an automated
material handling system
The FMS is most suited for
the mid-variety, mid-volume
production range
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.
 Flexible Automation

Ability to adapt to engineering Ability to accommodate

changes in parts routing changes

Increase in number of similar Ability to rapidly change

parts produced on the system production set up
Application Characteristics of FMS

High
Stand alone
NC machines

Flexible Manufacture
Medium Systems
Product variety

Transfer Lines
Low

Low Medium High

Production volume
Flexibility in Manufacturing
Basic Flexibility
Machine flexibility
Material handling flexibility
System Flexibility
volume flexibility
Routing flexibility
Expansion flexibility
Aggregate Flexibility
Program flexibility
production flexibility
market flexibility
 Different Types of FMS
Number of Machines
1. Single machine cell
2. Flexible manufacturing cell
3. Flexible manufacturing system
Level of Flexibility
1. Dedicated FMS
2. Random order FMS
Basic Components of FMS
The Basic components of FMS are:
1. Workstations.
2. Automated material Handling and Storage system.
3. Computer Control System.
Automated Material Handling

Automated Guided Vehicle

(AGV)

Automated Storage and

Retrieval System (ASRS)

Conveyors
Types of FMS Layouts
 FMS Layouts Continued

Ladder Layout:
Parts can be sent to any machine in any sequence
Parts not limited to particular part families

Open Field Layout:

Most complex FMS layout
Includes several support stations
Factors Influencing the FMS
layouts
Available of raw material
Proximity to market
Transport facilities
Availability of efficient and cheap labor
Availability of Power ,Water and Fuel
Atmospheric and climatic condition
Social and recreation Facilities
 Objective of FMS

Decreased Lead Times

Increased machine utilization
Improved Due Date Reliability
Decreased Store Inventors levels
Decreased Work in Progress
Increased Quality
Advantages and disadvantages of FMS Implementation
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.
Consistent and better quality.
Savings from indirect labors, from reduced errors ,
rework, repairs and rejects.
 Disadvantages
Limited ability to adapt to changes in product or
product mix .
Substantial pre-planning activity
Expensive , costing millions of Dollars.
Technological problems of exact component
positioning.
Sophisticated manufacturing systems.
Components of Flexible Manufacturing
Systems

NC Automated Inspection
CNC
DNC Cells and Centers
Robotics
AGV
ASRS
 Integration of FMS

FMS

Manufacturing
CAM Robotics
Technology
 A Real World Example
The
Ford
Motor Company
 Fords Problem

At Ford Powertrain they faced the following challenges

- outdated cell controller

- lack of flexibility because of it
- causing loss of efficiency
 Solution

Implemented a cell control based on an

open architecture, commonly available
tools, and industry standard hardware,
software, and protocols. (3)
 Benefits
Enabled Ford to mix and match machine tools from different vendors (3)
Reduced the number of man-years required to implement the application (3)
 Benefits Continued
The budget for the fully automatic closed-loop controller was less than
1/10th the cost for a system built in language.

No formal training was required for the floor shop operators

 Challenges with FMS

Determining if FMS the best production system for your

company (economically and socially)

Possible expansion costs associated with implementing FMS

Day to day maintenance of FMS operations

Quantitative analysis of Flexible Manufacturing
System

Flexible manufacturing systems have constituted an active area

of interest in operations research, and many of the important
contributions.
FMS analysis techniques can be classified into:
1) deterministic models,
2) queuing models,
3) discrete event simulation, and
4) other approaches, including heuristics.
Deterministic model
Deterministic models are useful in obtaining starting estimates of system
performance.
Deterministic model that is useful in the beginning stages of FMS design to
provide rough estimates of system parameters such as production rate,
capacity, and utilization.
Deterministic models do not permit evaluation of operating characteristics
such as the build-up of queues and other dynamics that can impair system
performance. Consequently, deterministic models tend to overestimate
FMS performance.
Actual system performance is much lower than the estimates provided by
these models, it may be a sign of either poor system design or poor
management of FMS operations.
Queuing Model
Queuing models can be used to describe some of the dynamics not accounted
for in deterministic approaches
These models are based on the mathematical theory of queues.
Permit the inclusion of queues, but only in a general way and for relatively
simple system configurations.
The performance measures that are calculated are usually average values for
steady-state operation of the system.

Discrete Event Simulation Model

In the later stages of design, discrete event simulation probably offers the most
accurate method for modeling the specific aspects of a given flexible
manufacturing system.
The computer model can be constructed to closely resemble the details of a
complex FMS operation.
Characteristics such as layout configuration, number of pallets in the system,
and production scheduling rules can be incorporated into the FMS simulation
model.
The simulation can be helpful in determining optimum values for these
parameters.