A survey of flexible manufacturing systems

In this report, the different flexible manufacturing systems used for machining and assembling in the following countries are reviewed: the United States, Japan, the Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic, Italy, Great Britain, Sweden, Norway, France, Czechoslovakia and Hungary.Three categories of systems discussed are (1) flexible modules and units, (2) flexible transfer lines, and (3) “unaligned” flexible systems. Within each category are several sub-groups, divided up mainly according to the conveyor system and operating mode. This classification shows the effective French position in this field.