Modelling and simulation of reconfigurable manufacturing system for machining of casing-class parts

Abstract

As the sale of agricultural machinery and spare parts is a highly seasonal business, manufacturing companies need to respond to the changing market demand by adjusting their production level in a cost-effective and flexible manner (to reduce storage costs). In view of this, designers of manufacturing systems must embrace the challenge of designing modular systems, which structure can be quickly adapted to the changing product range and production volume. One approach that addresses this challenge is the concept of reconfigurable manufacturing systems (RMS), which was developed at the end of the 20th century. The key characteristics of RMS are modularity, integrability, customized flexibility, convertibility, scalability and diagnosability, all of which are consistent with the assumptions of the philosophy of Industry 4.0. These features - alongside the adjusted system's capacity and flexibility to current manufacturing needs - allow to extend the life cycle of a designed system. The aim of this paper was to enable (using computer simulation method) the selection of an RMS structure what will correspond to the expected characteristics determining the throughput of the system under design and to select the most appropriate cycle time that allows to reduce the necessary capacity of buffers between the next stages of the designed system. In particular, eight RMS structures using Tecnomatix Plant Simulation software were modelled and the system's throughput for each of those structures was analysed. As a part of presented conclusions, general guidelines how to choose the best structure during the process of reconfigurable manufacturing system's design have been pointed out.