This need was not fully appreciated initially, and early performance of flexible automation in America was lacklustre. Necessary changes extend to the planning processes needed to operate flexible automation. Stecke identified five production-planning issues necessary for effective operation of flexible manufacturing systems. Much subsequent research into FMSs has addressed one or more of these issues, which are grouping machines, selecting part types, choosing relative mixes of products, allocating system resources to part types, and determining appropriate tool magazine loading strategies. These are unique challenges faced by production managers of flexible automation that are driven by technology.
With all the advantages that existing flexible automation offer, a legitimate question is to ask, why all manufacturing is not done on such equipment. One reason is that dedicated equipment is generally faster, operation by operation, than flexible automation, and more appropriate in high-volume environments. Another reason is that there is a cost premium in the acquisition and operation of flexible automation over dedicated systems. Also, for all the tumult about the agility of flexible automation, the ability to easily modify the systems to accommodate entirely new part types is limited. Therefore, the next phase of flexible automation appears to be the development of reconfigurable manufacturing systems (RMSs), where the technology will be "designed for rapid adjustment of production capacity and functionality, in response to new circumstances, by rearrangement or change of its components." An example of a reconfigurable machine is one that has milling and drilling capabilities but currently has no capability for turning. But a "reconfigurable" machine can easily, quickly, and cheaply be reconfigured to acquire the new turning capability also. Although, RMS technology does not currently exist, newly constructed hardware and software tools offer the capability to produce newly introduced part types. Another example of RMS hardware is a milling machine with room for the addition of several spindles that can be arranged in numerous configurations. The development of the hardware, the software, and the science of reconfiguration is ongoing.
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| Posted : 10/21/2005 |
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