FUTURE MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS

FUTURE MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS

Abstract

Driven by the need for more responsive manufacturing processes and as a consequence of increasing complexity in products and production systems, this short paper introduces a number of developments in the field of future manufacturing systems. The requirements on the future manufacturing systems can be characterized by three overall requirements: high productivity of the manufacturing process, high quality of the manufactured products (quality in a wide sense), and a considerable agility. There has been a lot of research in the world within this field. In Sweden research within manufacturing systems has been done at a couple of research institutions. Two of the leading institutions are KTH in Stockholm and LiTH in Linkýping.

A number of developments in the area of modular, distributed manufacturing systems are discussed. Requirements for the development of such systems are addressed and, in particular, the relevance to current and future integrated control systems is examined. One of the key issues for integrated control systems in the future is the need to provide support for distributed decision-making in addition to existing distributed control capabilities.

Presented in this article is a review of manufacturing techniques and introduction of reconfigurable manufacturing systems; a new paradigm in manufacturing which is designed for rapid adjustment of production capacity and functionality, in response to new market conditions. A definition of reconfigurable manufacturing systems is outlined and an overview of available manufacturing techniques, their key drivers and enablers, and their impacts, achievements and limitations is presented.

Introduction

An efficient and effective manufacturing system is a prerequisite in order to compete successfully on the manufacturing dimension of competition. To develop such a manufacturing system, the success factors must be known and a systems approach towards manufacturing must be adopted. The achievement of these success factors should be the common objective of all research efforts striving to develop future manufacturing systems. The direction of this development should bedriven by market requirements and simultaneously consider product and manufacturing development.

Changing manufacturing environment characterized by aggressive competition on a global scale and rapid changes in process technology requires to create production systems that are themselves easily upgradable and into which new technologies and new functions can be readily integrated. These conditions require a responsive new manufacturing approach that enables the launch of new product models to be undertaken very quickly, and rapid adjustment of the manufacturing system capacity to market demands; rapid integration of new functions and process technologies into existing systems, and easy adaptation to variable quantities of products for niche marketing. The manufacturing systems used for this new approach must be rapidly designed, able to convert quickly to the production of new models, able to adjust capacity quickly, and able to integrate technology and to produce an increased variety of products in unpredictable

Over the next decade there will be developments which may change the manufacturing scene to base production on smaller units with greater flexibility. This shift, as already evidenced by the focus on agile manufacturing, will have a deep impact on the design and operation of future manufacturing systems. Current organisations will be replaced by more innovative organic structures that may offer a very high operational and structural flexibility.

Modularity is typically introduced into a manufacturing operation to increase the flexibility of the operation both in terms of its range of functions and also its ability to be easily reconfigured in the face of changing conditions.

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