Integrated definition modeling and Taguchi analysis of flexible manufacturing systems: aircraft industry application

In this paper, flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) are studied. Firstly, an FMS design approach is proposed using integrated definition for function methodology. A systematic layout design and performance evaluation scheme is presented and detailed using this modeling framework. Then, the proposed approach is carried out with a case study from an aircraft industry to convert an existing traditional production system to FMS. To improve the system performance, a simulation-based method with Taguchi approach consisting of multiproducts is utilized. The objective is to find the machine and the product mix that achieves the maximum utilization while minimizing the cycle time. FMS system performance has been greatly improved by determining the most advantageous level of system components. It has also shown that FMS is a practicable production system in aircraft industry.     

Holonic Concept Based Methodology for Part Routeing on Flexible Manufacturing Systems

A flexible manufacturing system (FMS) is designed to achieve good productivity and low cost. The success of an FMS depends largely on effective production scheduling and control. However, it has been found that current manufacturing scheduling and control algorithms lack the flexibility to handle interruptions or resource breakdowns; hence, system performance drops dramatically and abruptly when interruptions occur. This research develops a computer-simulation-based framework of FMS scheduling and control system using the holonic concept. This framework can maintain stability and flexibility while accommodating system disturbance, increase throughput, reduce part flow-time and work-in-process inventory, and balance workload among identical workstations. The significance of this research is the investigation of an innovative approach to revolutionary advances of control technologies for advanced manufacturing systems, and to the revitalisation of control and scheduling algorithms used by existing FMSs. A case study has been provided to substantiate the effectiveness of this proposed framework.     

Object-oriented graphical modeling of FMSs

Presented in the article is a method for constructing a graphical model of an FMS by using a new modeling tool called JR-net (Job Resource relation-net). JR-net is an object-oriented graphical tool for modeling automated manufacturing systems (AMSs), such as FMSs, FASs, and AS/RSs. As with the object-oriented modeling paradigm of Rumbaugh et al. (1991), the JR-net modeling framework supports the three stages of models: static layout model (object model); job flow model (functional model); and supervisory control model (dynamic model). In this article, the existing JR-net structure (Park 1992, Han et al., 1995) is extended further to make it a graphical tool for FMS modeling. Using the extended JR-net, a step-by-step procedure for constructing a graphical model of FMSs is presented. Also addressed are issues of classifying FMSs in terms of their generic functions and of utilizing the JR-net model of FMSs.     

Modeling FMS with decision Petri nets

Decision point extended timed Petri nets or decision Petri nets (DPN) are introduced as an extended modeling framework for FMS performance evaluation. The decision point extension allows the explicit modeling of the control of the flow of tokens in timed Petri nets and hence represents the control of the flow of material, resources, and information in FMS. Further, the concept of a bounded transition is proposed to conveniently model the blocking logic in an FMS with limited buffer capacities. The motivation to present these conventions is to develop a user-friendly graphic model to represent FMS designs for analysis by discrete event simulation. DPN affords concise models that can be conveniently developed and easily transformed into discrete event simulation models. With the help of a simple FMS example, which includes a number of part types, loading rules, dispatching rules, and probabilistic branching (at an inspection station), we illustrate the DPN model development. As an illustration of the ease with which it can be tranformed into a simulation model, we have developed a generalized simulator called ROBSIM and outline here its methodological basis. The proposed concepts should be of interest to users of discrete event simulation in FMS design or elsewhere to tap the potential of basic Petri net concepts for graphic representation and specification purposes. In particular, our work should encourage other researchers to develop extensions relevant to their own areas of interest.     

An Object-Oriented Approach for Flexible Manufacturing Control Systems Analysis and Design Using the Unified Modeling Language

In reacting to global competition and rapidly changing customer demands, industrial business organizations have developed a strong interest in flexible automation. The aim of flexible automation focuses on achieving agility in handling uncertainties from internal or external environments. Modeling complex structures, promoting reuse, and shortening the development time cycle are particularly significant aspects in the analysis and design of CIM systems, where heterogeneous elements have to be integrated in a complex control architecture. The design methodology for FMS control software involves the abstraction of an FMS and the estimation of the system performances. The aim of this activity is to suggest the optimal configuration of an FMS for given specifications, through simulation tools. In the software engineering field, object-oriented (OO) approaches have proven to be a powerful technique with respect to such aspects. The unified modeling language (UML), by using OO design methodologies, can offer reusability, extendibility, and modifiability in software design. Also, it bridges the gap that exists between the OO analysis and design area and the area of OO programming by creating an integrative metamodel of OO concepts. The specific goal of this paper is to formulate a new methodology for developing reusable, extendible, and modifiable control software for an FMS in an object-oriented environment. It is demonstrated that, with few diagrams, UML can be used to model such systems without being associated with other modeling tools.     

Real-Time Manipulation of Alternative Routeings in Flexible Manufacturing Systems: A Simulation Study

This paper presents the results of a simulation study of a typical flexible manufacturing system (FMS) that has routeing flexibility. The objective is this study is to test the effectiveness of the dissimilarity maximisation method (DMM) for real-time FMS scheduling. DMM is an alternative process plan selection method developed for routeing selection in off-line FMS sched-uling. An integrated framework that consists of a computer simulation model, which mimics a physical system, a C++ module, and a linear program solver is used to evaluate the effects of various operational control rules on the system performance. The hypothetical FMS employed in this study consists of seven machining centres, a loading and an unloading area, and six different part types. Owing to the existence of identical machining centres in the system, the part types have alternative routeings. For selecting an incoming part and later routeing it to a machining centre for its next operation, three control rules, namely, first-in first-out/first available (FIFO/FA), equal probability loading (EPL), and dissimilarity maximisation method/first-in first-out (DMM/ FIFO) are used. In this study, DMM is 1. Used as a real-time decision-making tool to select routeings for the parts that are in the system. 2. Tested and benchmarked against FIFO/FA and EPL. The results show that DMM/FIFO outperforms FIFO/FA and EPL on system throughput. Other measures such as average waiting time, average transportation time, and percentage utilisation rates are also investigated to provide insights for the effectiveness of the DMM rule for real-time FMS control applications.     

Identification of product definition patterns in mass customization using a learning-based hybrid approach

Mass customization, which aims at satisfying individual customer needs with near mass production efficiency, has become a major trend in industry. Adopting the mass customization paradigm, customer preferences have a significant impact on the product design process. Thus, it is important for companies to make proper decisions in translating the voice of customers to product specifications. To facilitate this process, a learning-based hybrid method named KBANN-DT is proposed, which combines knowledge-based artificial neural network (KBANN) and CART decision tree (DT). In this method, the KBANN algorithm is applied to modeling the relationship between customer needs and product specifications. With prior domain theory, KBANN can provide a high generalization performance even if the data set is small. Based on the trained KBANN network, the CART DT algorithm is employed to extract rules from it. To illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, a case study in an elevator company is reported. The results show that the proposed method can be a promising tool for product definition.     

提高柔性制造系统加工效率的措施

柔性制造系统日均使用折旧费较高,在同等生产条件下如何提高其加工效率,增加日产出,成了企业及技术人员所面临的一大课题.根据常用柔性制造系统的实际情况,从加工工艺、夹具、系统调试和维护四个方面提出了措施.     

Dynamic load control policies for a flexible manufacturing system with stochastic processing rates

Real-time scheduling and load controls of FMSs are complex processes in which the control logic must consider a broad spectrum of instantaneous state variables while taking into account the probabilistic future impact of each decision at each time epoch. These processes are particularly important in the management of modern FMS environment, since they are known to have a significant impact on the FMS productive capacity and economic viability. In this article we outline the approach developed for dynamic load controls within an FMS producing a variety of glass lenses. Two revenue-influencing objective functions are evaluated for this capital-intensive facility. It is shown that by using Semi-Markovian modeling concepts, the FMS states need to be observed only at certain decision epochs. The mean holding time in each state is then obtained using the probability distribution function of the conditional state occupancy times. Several key performance measures are then derived by means of the value equations. In addition, the structure of the optimal policies are exemplified for a variety of operational parameters. It is shown that the optimal policies tend to generate higher buffer stocks of parts in those work centers having the highest revenue-generation rates. These buffer stocks get smaller and smaller as the relative processing capacity of the centers increases. Similar observations lead us to the introduction of several promising heuristics that capture the structural properties of the optimal policies with a significantly smaller computational effort. Results of the empirical evaluation of these heuristics are also analyzed here.     

液压泵计量阀芯专用夹具的设计与制造

为了提高液压泵计量阀芯的加工质量和效率,以DXS-16—03计量阀芯为研究对象,结合实际情况,通过三维造型对计量阀芯的专用夹具结构进行设计。对其制造工艺进行分析,制造出的计量阀芯达到了实际效果。     

MODELING OF FMS BASED ON UML AND OPNS

0INTRODUCTIONFleXiblemanufactunngsystem(FMS)isanadVancedmanufaeturingtechnology.FMScontrolsoftwaresupportingbothsimulationandcontrolimplementationisp~unttoexploitthefullbenefitsofFMS.Thecontrolsoftwarehastobedesignedtomeetthereal-timeconstraintsofaPnductionsystemanddynamicallychangingneedsOfthemalket.Hence,developmentmethodologiesarecriticaltodesignandimplementreusableanddrintainablecontrolsoftwaretorealizethefullbenefitsofFMS.ItisdifficulttouseanyonemethodtomodelsocomplexsystemasF…     

Performance Analysis of Flexible Manufacturing Systems with a Single Discrete Material-Handling Device

We present an analytical model for performance prediction of flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs) with a single discrete material-handling device (MHD). This configuration of FMS is significant for many reasons: it is commonly found in industry, it simplifies material-handling control, it is amenable to analytical modeling, and it forms a building block for more complex systems.Standard queueing models are inadequate to analyze this configuration because of the need to take into consideration many nontrivial issues such as state-dependent routing, interference from the MHD, and the analysis of the MHD. To account for state-dependent routing, we develop an iterative method that is built around mean value analysis. To analyze the MHD interference, we use two queueing network models. In the first, we ignore queueing at the MHD but model the interference from the MHD by inflating the station service times. The second network models the queueing for the MHD and estimates the blocking (inflation) times needed for the first model. By iterating between the two networks, we are able to predict the performance of this configuration of FMS. Our analytical estimates are validated against discrete event simulation and shown to be quite accurate for initial system design.     

Modeling and analysis for a kind of flexible manufacturing system involving time factors

Time control and management are important in flexible manufacturing systems (FMS). The time to finish the machining unit is uncertain because of the uncertainties of the workpieces, so the whole time to finish the FMS is also variable. In order to reduce the time to finish for the whole FMS to improve efficiency, the modeling and analysis method for this timing kind of FMS based on standard Petri net is proposed. The modeling method is a mapping from the machining units to the component of a Petri net, and the timing factors are represented by a timing function on the place set. With the Petri net model obtained and its reachability graph, the timing factors influencing the implementation of the FMS are analysed and presented. In addition, the method is obtained to find the best state line for the implementation of the FMS.     

A decision-making approach to the operation of flexible manufacturing systems

This paper introduces a generic decision-making framework for assigning resources of a manufacturing system to production tasks. Resources are broadly defined production units, such as machines, human operators, or material handling vehicles; and tasks are activities performed by resources. In the specific context of FMS, resources correspond to individual machines; tasks correspond to operations to be performed on parts. The framework assumes a hierarchical structure of the system and calls for the execution of four consecutive steps to make a decision for the assignment of a resource to a task. These steps are 1) establishment of decision-making criteria, 2) formation of alternative assignments, 3) estimation of the consequences of the assignments, and 4) selection of the best alternative assignment. This framework has been applied to an existing FMS as an operational policy that decides what task will be executed on which resource of this FMS. Simulation runs provide some initial results of the application of this policy. It is shown that the policy provides flexibility in terms of system performance and computational effort.     

Production planning of a flexible manufacturing system in a material requirements planning environment

Early flexible manufacturing system (FMS) production planning models exhibited a variety of planning objectives; typically, these objectives were independent of the overall production environment. More recently, some researchers have proposed hierarchical production planning and scheduling models for FMS. In this article, we examine production planning of FMS in a material requirements planning (MRP) environment. We propose a hierarchical structure that integrates FMS production planning into a closed-loop MRP system. This structure gives rise to the FMS/MRP rough-cut capacity planning (FMRCP) problem, the FMS/MRP grouping and loading (FMGL) problem, and the FMS/MRP detailed scheduling problem.We examine the FMRCP and FMGL problems in detail and present mathematical programming models for each of these problems. In particular, the FMRCP problem is modeled as a generalized assignment problem (GAP), and a GAP-based heuristic procedure is defined for the problem. We define a two-phase heuristic for the FMGL problem and present computational experience with both heuristics. The FMRCP heuristic is shown to solve problems that exhibit a dependent-demand relation within the FMS and with FMS capacity utilization as high as 99 percent. The FMGL heuristic requires very little CPU time and obtains solutions to the test problems that are on average within 1.5 percent of a theoretical lower bound.This FMS/MRP production planning framework, together with the resulting models, constitutes an important step in the integration of FMS technology with MRP production planning. The hierarchical planning mechanism directly provides for system-level MRP planning priorities to induce appropriate production planning and control objectives on the FMS while simultaneously allowing for necessary feedback from the FMS. Moreover, by demonstrating the tractability of the FMRCP and FMGL problems, this research establishes the necessary groundwork upon which to explore systemwide issues pertaining to the coordination of the hierarchical structure.     

基于PDM的活络模具配置模型研究

为了提高活络模具企业PDM系统的产品配置管理性能,快速响应客户订单需求和缩短产品生产周期,必须建立适用于活络模具的产品配置模型。在分析产品配置的原理和配置建模技术的基础上,建立了用UML语言表示的基于本体的活络模具配置模型,并在配置模型中引入类和特征的概念,提高了模型的可配置性和层次结构表达能力,同时更加有利于配置知识和规则的维护。最后,根据此模型进行PDM配置管理功能的客户化开发,并通过配置实例进行验证。     

Development and evaluation of feature-focused dynamic routing policy

This paper reports on a development of feature-focused dynamic routing policy and its evaluation in a flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) simulation framework. The dynamic policy is based on an integrative methodology in which process planning system IMPlanner is integrated with FMS simulation module. IMPlanner’s rule-based system process selection system performs knowledge-intensive task of generating alternative processing options for each feature for parts in production plan. Generated alternative routings (process plan network) for each part are utilized in the FMS simulation module such that routing decision in FMS are made on periodic intervals by considering alternative processes for each feature and making decision based on the current system status and performance. The proposed framework has been evaluated in an experimental FMS simulation module, implemented in Arena, in which two performance criteria, machine utilization and WIP, were used to make routing decisions. The feature-focused approach is compared with traditional static decision-making, and its improved performance is demonstrated.     

An FMS scheduling and control decision support system based on generalised stochastic Petri nets

This paper presents an FMS scheduling and control DSS (decision support system) using generalised stochastic Petri nets (GSPNs) for model representation and analysis. The function of the DSS is to assist the FMS operator to search for suitable control strategies that will achieve efficient performance. It can also be called upon in the event of unforeseen changes in production requirements, component failures, or other related contingencies. The GSPN modelling approach is employed because GSPNs can characterise random processing times, machine breakdown and repair rates. The GSPN employed in the proposed DSS also incorporates dispatching control at conflicting immediate transitions and can be used to determine various performance measures pertaining to scheduling and control. An application example of the DSS for the processing of two part types in a three-machine FMS is also described.