Flexible Manufacturing Systems

[attachment=16314]

An FMS is a “reprogrammable” manufacturing system capable of producing a variety of products automatically. Conventional manufacturing systems have been marked by one of two distinct features:
-The capability of producing a variety of different product types, but at a high cost (e.g., job shops).
-The capability of producing large volumes of a product at a lower cost, but very inflexible in terms of the product types which can be produced (e.g., transfer lines).

An FMS is designed to provide both of these features.


FMS Components

.Numerical Control (NC) machine tools

.Automated material handling system (AMHS)
-Automated guided vehicles (AGV)
-Conveyors
-Automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS)

.Industrial Robots

.Control Software


Information Technology


.Management information system (MIS)
move large amounts of data

.Decision support system (DSS)
add decision making support

.Expert system
recommend decision based on expert knowledge