COMPUTER INTEGRATED MANUFACTURING (MF40603)

Sankha Deb, Ph.D. (Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal)

Associate Professor,
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
FMS and Computer Integrated Manufacturing Lab,
IIT Kharagpur.

Email: [email protected]
 Manufacturing System
• A manufacturing system is defined to be a collection of integrated equipment and
manufacturing resources, whose function is to perform one or more processing and /
or assembly operations on a starting raw material, part or set of parts.
• The integrated equipment includes
– production machines and tools,
– material handling and work positioning devices,
– computer systems,
– Human resources either full time or periodically to keep the system running.
• The manufacturing system is where the value added work is accomplished on the part or
product.
• Examples of manufacturing systems include:
• One worker tending one machine, which operates on semi-automatic cycle
• A cluster of semi-automatic machines, attended by one worker

• A fully automated assembly machine, periodically attended by a human worker

• A group of automated machines working on automatic cycles to produce a
family of similar parts

• A team of workers performing assembly operations on a production line.

Components of a manufacturing system
• In a given manufacturing system, these components usually include:
• Production machines plus tools, fixtures, and other related hardware
• Material handling system
• Computer systems to coordinate and / or control the above parameters
• Human workers.

Production machines
• In virtually all modern manufacturing systems, most of the actual processing or assembly work
is accomplished by machines or with the aid of tools.
• The machines can be classified as
(1) manually operated
(2) semi-automated, or
(3) fully automated.
Manually operated machines
• They are directed or supervised by a human worker.
• The machine provides the power for the operation and the worker provides the control.
• Conventional machine tools (e.g. lathes, milling machines, drill presses) fit into this category.
• The worker must be at the machine continuously.

Single station manned cell

Multi-station manual system
Semi-automated machines
• They perform a portion of the workcycle under some form of program control.
• A human operator tends to the machine for the remainder of the cycle, by loading and
unloading it or performing some other task each cycle.
• An example of this category is a CNC lathe controlled for most of the work cycle by the part
program, but requiring a worker to unload the finished part and load the next workpiece at the
end of the part program.
• In these cases, the worker must attend to the machine every cycle, but continuous presence
during the cycle is not required.
• If the automatic machine cycle takes, say, 10 minutes, while the part loading / unloading portion
of the work cycle only takes 1 minute, then there may be an opportunity for one worker to tend
more than one machine
Fully automated machines
• What distinguishes a fully automated machine from its semi-automated cousin is its capacity to
operate for extended periods of time with no human attention.
• By extended periods of time, we generally mean longer than one work cycle.
• A worker is not required to be present during each cycle.
• Instead the worker may need to tend the machine every tenth cycle or every hundredth cycle,
when the collection bin full of completed parts at the machine must be taken away and replaced
by an empty bin.

Single station automated cell

Multi-station automated system

• In manufacturing systems, we use the term workstation to refer to a location in the
factory where some well defined task or operation is accomplished by an automated
machine, a worker-and-machine combination, or a worker using hand tools and/or
portable powered tools.
• A given manufacturing system may consist of one or more workstations.
• A system with multiple stations is called a production line, or assembly line, or machine
cell, or other name, depending on its configuration and function.
Material Handling System
• In most processing and assembly operations performed on discrete parts and products, the
following ancillary functions must be provided:
(1) loading and unloading work units, and
(2) positioning the work units at each station
(3) a means of transporting work units between stations in a manufacturing system composed
of multiple workstations
(4) a temporary storage function.
• The first three functions are accomplished by the material handling system.
• In many cases, the units are moved by the workers themselves, but more often some form of
mechanized or automated material transport system is used to reduce human effort.
• The purpose of storage in these systems is usually to make sure that the work is always present
for the stations, that is, that the stations are not starved .
Loading, positioning and unloading
• These material handling functions occur at each workstation.
• Loading involves moving the work units into the production machine or processing equipment
from a source inside the station.
• For example, starting parts in batch processing operations are often stored in containers
(pallets, tote bins, etc.) in the immediately vicinity of the station.

• For most processing operations, especially requiring accuracy and precision, the work unit
must be positioned in the production machine.
• Positioning provides for the part to be in a known location and
orientation relative to the workhead or tooling that performs the
operation.
• Positioning in the production equipment is often accomplished using
a workholder.
• A workholder is a device that accurately locates, orients and clamps
the part for the operation and resists any forces that may occur
during processing.
• Common work holders include jigs, fixtures and chucks.
Loading, positioning and unloading (continued)
• When the production operation has been completed, the work unit must be unloaded, that is,
removed from the production machine and either placed in a container at the workstation or
prepared for transport to the next workstation in the processing sequence.
• “Prepared for transport” may consist of simply loading the part onto a conveyor leading to the
next station.
• When the production machine is manually operated or semi-automatic , loading, positioning
and unloading are performed by the worker either by hand or with the aid of a hoist.
• In fully automated stations, a mechanized device such as an industrial robot, parts feeder, coil
feeder (in sheet metal stamping), or automatic pallet changer is used to accomplish these
material handling functions.
Work transport between stations
• Work transport means moving parts between workstations in a multi-station system.
• The transport function can be accomplished manually or by the most appropriate material
transport equipment.
• In some manufacturing systems, work units are passed from station to station by hand.
• Manual work transport can be accomplished by moving the units one at a time or in batches.
• Moving parts in batches is generally more efficient,
according to the Unit Load Principle.
• Manual work transport is limited to cases in which
the parts are small and light, so that the manual
labor is ergonomically acceptable.
• When the load to be moved exceeds certain weight standards,
powered hoists and similar lift equipment are used.
• Manufacturing systems that utilize manual work transport include manual assembly lines and
group technology machine cells.
• Various types of mechanized and
automated material handling equipment
are widely used to transport work units
in manufacturing systems.
Work transport between stations (continued)
• We distinguish two general categories of work transport, according to the type of routing between
stations: (1) variable routing, and (2) fixed routing.
• In variable routing, work units are transported through a variety of different station sequences.
• This means that the manufacturing system is processing or assembling different work units.
• Variable routing transport is associated with job shop production and many batch production
operations. Manufacturing systems that use variable routing include group technology machine
cells and flexible manufacturing systems.

• In fixed routing, the work units always flow through the same sequence of stations.
• This means that the work units are identical or similar enough that the processing sequence is
identical.
• Fixed routing transport is used on production lines.
Work transport between stations (continued)
• Table below lists some of the typical material transport equipment used for the two types of part
routing.
Pallet fixtures and work carriers in transport systems
• Depending on the geometry of the work units and the nature of the processing and / or
assembly operations to be performed, the transport system may be designed to accommodate
some form of pallet fixture.
• A pallet fixture is a work holder that is designed to be transported by the material handling
system.
• The part is accurately attached to the fixture on the upper face of the pallet, and the under
portion of the pallet is designed to be moved, located and clamped in position at each work
station in the system.

• Since the part is accurately located in the fixture, and the pallet is accurately clamped at the
station, the part is therefore accurately located at each station for processing or assembly.
• Use of pallet fixtures is common in automated manufacturing systems, such as single
machine cells with automatic pallet changers, transfer lines, and automated assembly
systems.
Pallet fixtures and work carriers in transport systems (continued)
• Alternative methods of workpart transport avoid the use of pallet fixtures.
• Instead, parts are moved by the handling system either with or without work carriers.
• A work carrier is a container ( e.g. tote pan, flat pallet, wire basket) that holds one or more
parts and can be moved in the system.
• Work carriers do not fixture the parts in an exact position.
• Their role is simply to contain parts during transport.
• When the parts arrive at the desired destination, any locating requirements for the next
operation must be satisfied at that station (This is usually done manually).
 Pallet fixtures and work carriers in transport systems (continued)
• An alternative to using pallet fixtures or work carriers is direct transport, in which the transport
system is designed to move the work unit itself.
• The obvious benefit of this arrangement is that it avoids the expense of pallet fixtures or work
carriers as well as the added cost of providing for their return to the starting point in the system
for reuse.
• In manually operated manufacturing systems, direct transport is quite flexible, since any
positioning required at workstations can be accomplished by the worker.
• In automated manufacturing systems, the feasibility of direct transport depends on the part’s
geometry and whether an automated handling method is capable of moving, locating and
clamping the part with sufficient precision and accuracy.
• Not all part shapes allow for direct handling by a mechanized or automated system.

n-gl.com