Browse Topic: Flexible manufacturing systems
Humanoid robots have long been the focus of science fiction, but today they are making their way into industrial environments thanks to the simultaneous maturing and convergence of multiple systems. Technology advances have driven the development of humanoid robots that have a wide range of movement and can perform demanding jobs around the clock without tiring. While currently representing a small share of all industrial robot deployments, the humanoid robot market is projected to grow rapidly over the next few years. In fact, estimates suggest the market could reach over $4 billion by 2030. This growth is being driven by factors such as labor shortages, falling costs, and the need for more flexible automation.
BMW's Munich factory remains the fertile root of a century of manufacturing, including its first R32 motorcycle in 1923. At the Munich plant - flanked by the engine-shaped “four-cylinder” headquarters tower and futuristic BMW Welt museum and customer-delivery center - BMW recently showed media its reimagined “iFactory.” This lean, green and digitized environment can build ICE, hybrid, electric or even hydrogen fuel-cell models on a single assembly line. That master plan includes a car and battery factory in Debrecen, Hungary, that BMW claims will be the industry's first CO2-emissions-free plant in 2025, fed entirely by photovoltaic or other renewable electricity.
The manufacturing facilities of the future will deploy extremely easy-to-use, safe, flexible, and affordable automation supported by AI and standardized software and hardware interfaces. In several key respects, the transformative technologies required to make all this happen are already here, driven by demand from within the manufacturing sector itself. These technologies provide a tantalizing glimpse into the future of manufacturing automation.
Today manufacturing industries have become more competitive and to survive, industries should be capable of accommodating the sudden market change. The conventional manufacturing systems like Dedicated Manufacturing Lines (DMLs) can produce high volume of product but difficult to cater to varying product types. On the other hand, Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) is capable of handling product variety but not suited for mass production, The Reconfigurable Manufacturing System (RMS) gives the advantage of both the system, as it has the capability to adjust to both high volume requirement and product variety, and it able to upgrade to new process technology with minimal effort. In this work the reconfiguration is carried out in machine and system level. At machine level, a new inspection machine is proposed which can be used for multiple products with minimal adjustments and a special drilling and bore tool is suggested to reduce the cycle time and ramp up time when product changes. At system level a new layout is proposed which can handle multiple products effectively and which requires less space compared with the present layout, Discrete event simulation software Arena and Flexsim are used to simulate the proposed manufacturing system with stochastic nature. The simulation results of conventional and proposed systems are compared and presented.
Powered by smart machines, the new industrial revolution is changing how machine builders design, and how manufacturers operate today and in the future. To remain competitive and profitable, plants and machines will have to be smarter: better connected, more efficient, more flexible, and safe.
Automating manufacturing processes is a complex issue, with no one-size-fits-all solution. Robots range from insect-like microrobots to industrial robots powerful enough to move automotive chassis or airplanes. Toward the lower end of the spectrum is a class of robots referred to as collaborative robots (or cobots) because they are designed to share a workspace with human workers.
The automation of assembly processes in aircraft production is, due to technological and organizational boundary conditions, very difficult and is subject to technological challenges and economical risks. The technological challenges are especially the large product dimensions as well as the high amount of variants. At the same time, aircrafts are produced in low quantities with inflexible and expensive fixtures. As part of the research projects TRSE (semi-automated robot welding for single item production) and 4by3 (Modularity, Safety, Usability, Efficiency by Human-Robot-Collaboration) at ZeMA, the goal is to develop new process technologies, planning tools and adequate equipment in order to enable efficient and customized automation for various production processes. The human-robot-cooperation is an approach to a required, adjusted and flexible automation. Worker and robot work together without a separating protection device in an overlapping workspace. The idea is to support the worker in the production process with a sensitive robot to achieve a higher process efficiency and an improvement of quality.
In order to meet the requirement of Flexible Manufacturing System, tool management, including tool preparation and tool setting, has to be planned systematically at the beginning of manufacturing engineering planning and flexible manufacturing line planning based on lean manufacturing principles. The objective of this article is to study the tool management factors that lean and flexible manufacturing system required, based on the planning of tool management in a new engine factory. This article introduces the main contents of tool management systems, analyzes the process of tool management, and summarizes the steps of tool planning process. In details, this article includes planning on tool management procedures, plant floor layout and information system. In addition, the article puts forwards a formula for calculation of tool presetting time, so that the demand of tool equipment quantity and personnel in a tool presetting room can be decided. This article can be used as reference or assistance to engineers as they develop tool management systems for engine manufacturing systems.
Direct Metal Fabrication (DMF) methods offer a highly flexible manufacturing method for aerospace grade metallic parts to be created from a Computer Aided Design (CAD) model. The ARCAM Electron Beam Melting (EBM) technology was down selected to evaluate Ti 6Al-4V and Ti 6Al-4V Extra Low Interstitials (ELI) for flightworthiness applications. Direct Metal Fabrication is very promising for the manufacture of aerospace components due to their complex geometries, long lead times for castings, forgings and complex computing of CNC machining. The applications for DMF range from: reverse engineering of legacy components, production for low to medium build quantities and rapid manufacture of prototype applications. The mechanical and metallurgical properties of three heat treatments were evaluated: Annealed (as-fabricated), Hot Isostatic Press (HIP) only, Hot Isostatic Press plus Beta Solution Treat and Overage (HIP+BSTOA). This paper presents the mechanical and metallurgical test data of Electron Beam Melted Ti 6Al-4V relative to other manufacturing methods and compares heat treatment process effects.
Engineers identify key technology trends such as the necessity for lighter, smaller engines and vehicles-and stress that managing trade-offs is an especially tough challenge. When asked to select the two most important environmental/sustainability issues in their development work, SAE-member engineers responding to a survey recently conducted for DuPont and Automotive Engineering International indicated the top three to be hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs), technologies that boost performance of smaller engines, and lightweighting (for CAFE), with 47%, 47%, and 31%, respectively. Remarkably, when this DuPont/AEI survey was last conducted in 2008, batteries and EV technology (the word “hybrid” was excluded) were considered the most important sustainability issue in only 3% of respondents' work, illustrating the industry's keen focus on vehicle electrification over the past three years. Also in 2008, the use of bio-based fuel and alternative-fuel issues ranked second with 44%; this year it was fifth at 20%, also trailing recycling and recyclability (25%). (Performance-boosting technology for smaller engines was not an option on the prior survey.)
SAE 100 Future look: When it comes to the global automotive industry, it's a jungle out there. And only the strongest, most agile players are likely to survive and thrive in the future. Throughout the world, the industry is undergoing deep and fundamental change. A number of key factors are driving this change, including hyper-competition; the successful deployment of advanced, electronic business tools such as the Internet and computer modeling and simulation programs; the rapid emergence of new, modern economies and automotive markets such as China and India; significant production overcapacity; and the integration of the car business across the global community. For the United States, the auto industry is an economic cornerstone. This reality makes the industry's current transformation particularly challenging for the nation. The typical job at an automotive manufacturer contributes more than $300,000 of value to the economy, which is more than four times the impact generated by the average U.S. job. Additionally, every one of these jobs has an economic multiplier of 10.4. This means that the income from one U.S. job at an automaker supports a total of 9.4 other jobs. Such jobs exist at vehicle-supplier firms or elsewhere in the community.
A rebirth at Ford's famous manufacturing complex honors the past but puts the focus on the future. When Ford opens the Dearborn Truck Plant at its historic Rouge complex next year for production of the F-150 pickup truck, it will feature the most sophisticated equipment and processes Ford has to offer in its effort to become flexible on the shop floor and irresistable on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor. Anne Stevens, Ford Vice President, North America Vehicle Operations, discussed some of the history but mainly the future of the plant at a media event for the truck and the plant late last year. At that time, the plant was still devoid of equipment but otherwise appeared almost ready for the business of truck-making to begin.
There are a number of major trends which are impacting Pratt and Whitney Canada (P&WC) which will require major restructuring of our manufacturing systems, if we are to remain competitive. The paper describes the trends and the potential consequences or opportunities for manufacturing. Pratt and Whitney Canada has responded with a structured 10 year plan, which will implement a company-wide Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) capability. In order to test the strategies and technologies, a Pilot built in Halifax Nova Scotia. This facility will be one of the most advanced large scale flexible manufacturing factories worldwide. Successful implementation of these advanced manufacturing systems requires more than a technological approach. Equally important are the sociological issues which are being applied to develop a new Socio-Technical Design. Lastly the paper reviews the potential impact of these changes on our customers, the airframe builders and the aircraft operators.
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