MODULE – 3

Flexible Manufacturing Systems

Prepared by:
Anand A
Assistant Professor,
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
RajaRajeswari college of Engineering,
Bangalore - 74

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 Flexible Manufacturing Systems: (Syllabus)

➢ Fundamentals of Group Technology and Flexible Manufacturing

Systems, types of FMS, FMS components, Material handling and

storage system, applications, benefits, computer control systems,

FMS planning and design issues.

➢ Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems, (AS/RS) and

➢ Automatic parts identification systems and data capture.(AIDC)

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 INTRODUCTION to Group Technology (GT)

 Group Technology is the concept, to improve productivity.

Definition:
 Group Technology involves grouping components having similar
attributes in order to take advantage of their similarities in design or
manufacturing phases of production cycle. It is implemented through the
application of well-structured classification and coding systems and
supporting software to take advantage of the similarities of components
in terms of design attributes and processing sequences.

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 BENEFITS OF GROUP TECHNOLOGY:
➢ Design Standardization.
➢ Rapid design retrieval.
➢ Reduction of part steps and associative costs and time.
➢ Improve estimation of machine tool requirements.
➢ Standardization of routings.
➢ Use of common tooling and avoidance of new tooling.
➢ Reduced tools and fixtures to be used.
➢ Reduced in process inventory.
➢ Easier location of production difficulties.
➢ Improved equipment monitoring and scheduling.
➢ Improved opportunities for controlling quality at source.
➢ Reduced time to locate part defects.
➢ Reduced sampling and inspection time.

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Parts may be arranged or grouped for GT technology through :

I. Design characteristics or geometric features.

II. Manufacturing process

For grouping parts into part families there are three methods. They are

1. Visual Inspection.

2. Part Classification and coding.

3. Production flow analysis.

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Visual Inspection:
 This method is the least sophisticated and least expensive method. It involves the
classification of parts into part families by looking at either the physical parts or
their photo groups and arranging them having similar features.

Part Classification and Coding:

 For parts to be grouped based on design characteristics and manufacturing
processes, they must be classified into predetermined categories and coded for
retrieval and use.
 Classification and coding are computerized tools used to capture the design
and manufacturing features of part. They provide the ability to retrieve and
analyze the data by desired feature.
 A coding system may be based only on number or only on alphabets, or
it can also be alphanumeric.
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Production Flow Analysis:
 is a method in which part families are identified and machine tools are grouped
based on the analysis of the sequence of operations for the various products
manufactured in the plant.

 Parts, which may not be similar in shape but require similar sequence of operations,
are grouped together to form a family. The resulting families are then used to
design or establish machine cells.

 After gathering the needed data, i.e. the part number and machine routing for every
product, the computer is employed to sort out the products into groups, each of
which contains parts that require identical process routings and is called a pack.

 Each pack is given an identification number, and packs having similar routings
are grouped together.

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 Introduction to Flexible Manufacturing System

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 What Makes It Flexible or Why FMS)?

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 Types of FMS:
Flexible manufacturing systems can be divided into various types depending
upon their features. They are :

1. BASED ON KINDS OF OPERATION:

Flexible manufacturing system can be distinguished depending upon the kinds
of operation they perform:
I. Processing operation: Such operation transforms a work material from one
state to another moving towards the final desired part or product. It adds
value by changing the geometry, properties or appearance of the starting
materials.
II. Assembly operation: It involves joining of two or more component to
create a new entity which is called an assembly/subassembly. Permanent
joining processes include welding, brazing, soldering , adhesive bonding,
rivets, press fitting, and expansion fits.

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2. BASED ON NUMBER OF MACHINES:
The following are typical categories of FMS according to the number of machines
in the system:
Single machine cell (Standalone Machine):
➢ It consists of a fully automated machine(CNC) combined with parts
storage system for unattended operations.
➢ Completed parts are periodically unloaded from the parts storage unit, and
raw workparts are loaded into it.
➢ The cell can be designed to operate in a batch mode, a flexible mode, or a
combination or the two.
➢ When operated in a batch mode, parts of a single style in specified lot sizes
is processed, and is then changed over to process a batch of the next part
style.
➢ It is capable of processing different part styles (viz flexible mode),
responding to changes in production schedule, and accepting new part
introductions.
➢ In this case processing is sequential not simultaneous. Production stops if
the machine breakdown occurs. (i.e. Error recovery is limited).
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 Single machine cell (SMC):

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 Flexible manufacturing cell (FMC):
It consists of two or three dispensing workstations and a material handling
system. The material handling system is linked to a load/unload
station. A flexible manufacturing cell satisfies –

1. New part design can be introduced into the existing product mix. (Part
variety of different part style)

2. Schedule change (readily accept change in production schedule)

3. Error recovery (when equipment breakdown happens, production is

not completely disrupted)

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 Flexible manufacturing cell (FMC):

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 Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS):
1. It has four or more processing work stations (typically CNC
machining centers or turning centers) connected by a common part
handling system and by a distributed computer system.
2. In comparison with FMC, FMS also includes non-processing work
stations that support production but do not directly participate in it. e.g.
part / pallet washing stations, co-ordinate measuring machines.
3. Apart from this computer control system is bigger and more
sophisticated, also includes machine diagnostics and tool monitoring
system.
4. These features significantly differentiate it from Flexible manufacturing
cell (FMC).

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 Figure : Comparison for three categories of FMS
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 3. BASED ON LEVEL OF FLEXIBILITY:

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 Figure : Comparison between the two categories of FMS
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 FMS components

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 In-Line layout

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 In-Line layout – Cont..

The loop layout uses conveyor systems that allow unidirectional flow
of parts around the loop. A secondary material handling system is
provided at a workstation which permits the flow of parts without any
obstruction. A possible arrangement of this layout is shown in figure.

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 Loop layout

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 Rectangular layout

“In the rectangular layout configuration, parts flow in one direction around
the loop. The load, unload stations are placed at one end of loop, A possible
arrangement of this layout is shown in fig

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 Ladder type layout consists of
rungs(horizontal support) on which
workstations are located. This reduces the
average travel distance thereby reducing
the transfer time between workstations. It
obviates the need for a secondary handling
system, thus minimizing congestion in the
handling system.

Ladder layout
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 The open field layout consists of
loops and ladders organized to
achieve the desired processing
requirements. This is used for the
processing of a large family of
parts. The number of different
machines may be limited, and the
parts are routed to different
workstations depending on
availability of machines. A
possible arrangement of this
layout is shown in figure.

Open Field layout

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 “If a handling robot is used in a
Flexible manufacturing system
cell , the machines are laid out
in a circle, such a layout is
called circular layout. A
possible arrangement of this
layout is shown in Figure.

Robot centered layout

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3. Computer Control System:
It is used to coordinate the activities of the processing stations and the material handling
system in the FMS. The various functions of computer control system are:
(i) Control of each work station(use of CNC)
(ii) Distribution of control instruction to work station(use of DNC or HOST)
(iii) Production control(part variety & production rate)
(vi) Traffic control(material handling mgmt.)
(v) Tool control(monitoring the cutting tools required at each station and tool life
monitoring)
(vi) Work handling system and monitoring(status of WIP of parts mix & status of pallet in
primary and secondary handling system)
(vii) System performance monitoring and reporting(periodic data collection to prepare a
report on Availability, Utilization, production, tooling, breakdown, maintenance status)

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 Categories of AIDC technologies

➢Bar code technology

➢Electromagnetic - Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
➢Magnetic stripe
➢Machine Vision
➢Smart card (Embedded with microchip)
➢QR code
➢Optical Character recognition etc.

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 Barcode technology
Barcode technology is an integral part of every industry. It has effectively
replaced the method of manual entry. A Barcode is simply a machine readable
language, which is a symbol/pattern consisting of a sequence of wide &
narrow colored bars separated by wide & narrow spaces (The colored bars
are usually black and spaces are white for high contrast). The barcode,
consisting of bars and spaces, is a representation of numerals and characters
that can be read with an optical barcode scanner.

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 How Barcode Reader Reads Barcodes – Working Principle
✓When the laser light from the barcode reader falls on the barcode, which is a set of
black and white parallel lines, the light is reflected by the white lines and the black
lines do not reflect the light.
✓let's assume that barcodes are simple on-off, binary patterns with each black
line corresponding to a ‘1’ and each white line a ‘0’.
✓As the scanner moves past the barcode, it measures the light intensity reflected
back by the black line and white spaces, this generates an analog signal with
varying voltage.
✓This signal is converted to digital signal by the converter. The digital signal is then
fed to the decoder which interprets the signal i.e. the black lines are assigned ‘1’ and
white lines ‘0’.
✓Subsequently the digital data is validated and gets converted into human readable
form with the help of data decoder.

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 Figure: Working Principle - Barcode Reader

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Electromagnetic - Radio Frequency Identification (RFID):
➢ RFID or Radio Frequency Identification System (based on the Radio frequency signals) is a
technology based identification system which helps identifying objects just through the
tags attached to them.

➢ Without requiring any light of sight between the tags and the tag reader. All that is
needed is radio communication between the tag and the reader.

➢ Similar to barcode the RFID can also give unique identification number to all products but
the added advantage is unlike the barcode system’s line of sight, this system can detect
the RFID tag within its proximity range.

➢ Frequency Range used by RFID Technology - Radio frequency range is from 3 kHz to
300 GHz but the RFID generally uses Radio frequencies in ranges within the Radio
frequency (RF) band.

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Main Components of a RFID System:
➢ RFID Tag

➢ Reader

RFID Tag:
Tag consists of Microchip and an antenna.
 Microchip: It is a semiconductor(silicon microchip ) device which consists
of a circuit attached in it with some KB of memory storage, capable of
storing data and transmitting it whenever needed. It is mounted on a
substrate and encapsulated in different materials like plastic or glass veil and
with an adhesive on the back side to be attached to objects.

 Antenna: It is used to transmit the data that is present in the chip into air so
that it can be detected by a reader.

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 RFID Reader:
It is a device which consists of a transceiver, antenna and a decoder.

 Transceiver: It can be used either as a transmitter or a receiver. It

consists of an oscillator to generate a continuous signal which is modulated
to a required frequency and then transmitted into air through an antenna.

 Antenna: It is a device which converts the electrical signal into

electromagnetic signal which is efficient in propagating the signal in air.

 Decoder: When a RF signal is detected at the antenna from a tag, the

decoder helps in retrieving the data.

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 Figure: Working principle of RFID system
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 How does RFID work? Working principle of RFID
system:
 A RFID reader stays powered on all the time and is normally powered from
an external power source. So when it is ON, the oscillator in it generates a
signal with a desired frequency but as the signal strength will be very less
(which may lead to fading off the signal if it is transmitted directly) it has to
be amplified which can be done using an amplifier circuit, in order to
propagate the signal to a longer distance we need to modulate the signal
which is done by a modulator. With all these improvements the signal is
now ready to be transmitted which can be done by an antenna which
converts the electrical signal into a electromagnetic signal.

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  The RFID reader signals are everywhere with it’s proximity to detect a tag.
When a RFID tag comes in the proximity of the RFID reader the tag detects
the readers signal through a coil present in it which converts the received
RF signal into a electrical signal. This converted signal alone is sufficient to
power up the microchip present in the tag. Once the microchip gets powered
up, its function is to send the data (unique ID) which it is stored in it. The
same way the signal came in, it is sent out through the same coil into the air.

 As discussed earlier the RFID reader also has a transceiver in it. When the
signal comes back from the tag through the antenna of RFID reader it is fed
to the demodulator and then decoded by a decoder where the original data
can be obtained and then further processed by a microcontroller or a
microprocessor to perform a specific task.

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How a magnetic stripe card works?
 The magnetic strip on a card can be ‘written’ or encoded with information
because the tiny iron-based particles that make up the strip can be magnetized
in different directions by a device that produces a strong magnetic field. This
device is a ‘solenoid’, which is basically a coil wound into a tightly packed
helix.
 Solenoid - :
The wire is wound around a high-permeability, metallic core that produces a
strong magnetic field when a current is passed through it. This device encodes
the required information onto the stripe, which is then pasted on a plastic card.

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Note: Magnetic particle in the stripe is a
tiny bar magnet about 20-millionths of
an inch long.
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Magnetic stripe reader (magstripe reader):
 A magnetic stripe reader, also called a magstripe reader, is a hardware device
that reads the information encoded in the magnetic stripe located on the back
of a plastic badge.
 For instance, insertion readers require that the badge be inserted into the
reader and then pulled out. Swipe readers require that the badge pass
completely through the reader.
 The magnetic stripe on the back of a badge is composed of iron-based
magnetic particles encased in plastic-like tape. Each magnetic particle in the
stripe is a tiny bar magnet about 20-millionths of an inch long. When all the
bar magnets are polarized in the same direction, the magnetic stripe is blank.
Information is written on the stripe by magnetizing the tiny bars in either a
north or south pole direction with a special electromagnetic writer, called an
encoder.
 The writing process, called flux reversal, causes a change in the magnetic
field that can be detected by the magnetic stripe reader. Since there can be two
different flux reversals, N-N or S-S, there can be two different information
states, much like the binary system used by computers. The magnetic stripe
reader reads the information by detecting the changes in the magnetic field
caused by the flux reversals on the badge's magnetic stripe.

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Machine Vision :
➢Vision system is used in the robots for viewing and recognizing an object.
➢Robot vision is made possible by means of camera with a sufficient light source.
➢The camera is mounted either on the robot or in a fixed position above the robot so
that its field of vision includes the robots work volume.
➢It has several components such as a camera, digitizing hardware, and an interface
hardware & software.
➢The vision process includes three important tasks, namely:
➢Sensing & Digitizing Image Data (Capture the image & convert into digital data form)
➢Image Processing & Analysis (convert the digital information using suitable
algorithms and interpret the information with the previously stored data in the control
unit)
➢Applications (enable the robot to carry out the following kinds of operations)
✓Inspection
✓Orientation (if randomly oriented)
✓Part Identification
✓Location
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 Figure: Machine Vision System
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