ASSEMBLY LINE

AN OVERVIEW

HENRY FORD
Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist.
Founder of Ford Motor Company, and sponsorer of development of assembly line technique of mass production. Credited with Fordism : mass production of inexpensive goods coupled with high wages for workers.

ASSEMBLY LINE
An assembly line is a manufacturing process (sometimes called progressive assembly) in which parts are added to a product in a sequential manner using optimally planned logistics to create a finished product much faster than with handcrafting-type methods.

PRINCIPLES OF ASSEMBLY LINE

The principles incorporated in assembly line : Place the tools and the men in the sequence of the operation so that each component part shall travel the least possible distance while in the process of finishing. Use work slides or some other form of carrier so that when a workman completes his operation, he drops the part always in the same place--which place must always be the most convenient place to his hand--and if possible have gravity carry the part to the next workman for his operation. Use sliding assembling lines by which the parts to be assembled are delivered at convenient distances.

ASSEMBLY LINES METHODS

Different methods in assembly line :
Just-in-time (JIT) : manufacturing methods have been developed to reduce the cost of carrying parts and supplies as inventory. Modular Assembly : Advanced assembly line method designed to improve throughput by increasing the ef ficiency of parallel subassembly lines feeding into the final assembly line. Cell Manufacturing : evolved out of increased ability of machines to perform multiple tasks. Team Production- teams of workers can follow a job down the assembly line through its final quality checks .

ASSEMBLY LINE MODELS

1 . SINGLE LINE : Single product line for producing one product . Production remains constant throughout. 2. MIXED PRODUCTION LINE : Family of products with distinguished features while same basic features. 3. BATCH PRODUCTION LINE : Multiple dif ferent products which produces significant dif ferences in the production processes.

ASSEMBLY LINE BALANCING

Assigning numbers of operators or machines to each operation of an assembly line so as to meet the required production rate with a minimum of idle time. Cycle time Precedence diagram The line balancing process Measure of ef ficiency

IMPACT ON FORDS PRODUCTION

In 1913 , Ford introduced the assembly line concept. Production time fell from 14 hrs per car to 93 minutes per car. Sales rose to 254000 in 1914 to 472000 in 1916. Final total production was 15,007,034 cars : a record unbroken for next 45 years. December , 1927 : Ford model A introduced whose sales reached up to 4 million cars till 1931 . In a way it made the automobile as one of the most and consumed product. Made it possible to af ford a model T for everybody. From $825 in 1908 to $360 in 1916

IMPACT IN FORDS WAR EFFORT

Before Ford, and under optimal conditions, the aviation industry could produce one Consolidated Aircraft B-24 Bomber a day at an aircraft plant. Ford showed the world how to produce one B-24 an hour at a peak of 600 per month in 24-hour shifts.

IMPACT ON EMPLOYEE WORKING CONDITIONS

State of Michigan turned into a auto capital. Workers do no heavy lifting. No stooping or bending over. No special training required. Provided employment to immigrants. In Mass production human error and variation were reduced. Segmentation of jobs. Faster production and quality products.

APPLICATIONS
Assembly line AGVS applications are only now being introduced in the U.S. This is an adaptation of the small light load AGVS for an assembly line process. Automated Guided Vehicle system Light load adaptation Parallel operations Computer control individual tracking of items and measured work rates

Iron and steel

Beverage industry

Automobile

Fabric Industry

Information Technology

Medicine making

APPLICATIONS

Assembly robots have expanded production capabilities in the manufacturing world. The assembly process is faster, more efficient and precise than ever before. Examples of robots : FRIDA could be easily interchanged with a human co-worker.

FRIDA

ToyMaker 3000 exhibit view Photo credit: Dirk Fletcher, Museum of Science and Industry