PRODUCTION AUTOMATION (Lecture 8) REASONS FOR AUTOMATION 1.

Increase Production Rate Eliminates portions of processes that directly increase production time (Machine Processing Time, Handling Time, Setup Times)

2. Removes Human from hazardous environments Exposure to (Chemicals, Fumes, Temperatures and Radiations) Robotic Applications (Furnaces, Spray Painting, Welding)

3. Remove Humans from Processes that requires extremely clean environments (Semiconductors, Drugs) 4. Reduce number of defective products 5. Reduce Direct labor One worker monitors a large number of machines

6. Reduce W.I.P (Better control and Scheduling) 7. Reduce Manufacturing Lead Time M.L.T (Processing times, Setup times, Waiting Times) Setup Time (Flexible Automation, common Fixtures and Tooling) Processing Time (Combining or Eliminating Operations) Waiting Time (Increased Speeds)

8. Increase Quality Repeatable operations through every cycle (Tighter and Controlled) Easier detection (when process is out of control limits)

9. Increase Productivity 10. Reduce Labor Costs 11. Address Labor Shortages 12. Health and Safety

Dr. S.A. Shah

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PRODUCTION AUTOMATION (Lecture 8) STRENGTHS OF COMPUTER BASED MACHINES Performs repetitive tasks consistently Store large amount of Data Retrieve data from memory reliably Performs multiple tasks simultaneously Apply high forces and powers Performs computations quickly

MANUAL LABOR IN AUTOMATED SYSTEMS Even if all of the Manufacturing System in a Factory are automated, still there will be a need of the following work to be performed by humans Equipment maintenance (maintain and repair, improve the reliability of automated system) Programming and computer operations Engineering project works (Upgrades, Design Tooling, Continuous improvement) Plant Management

REASONS FOR AUTOMATION Automated Manufacturing Systems are expensive comparing to Conventional Manufacturing, still the manufacturers prefer to have an Automated systems. If cost a lot, why should we go for Automation?? Because there are various advantages associated with Automation, they are: 1. Increase Labor Productivity With automated machines the Production Rate of the system increases and number of labor decreases, conversely, the labor productivity increases Greater output per hour with less labor input

2. Reduce Labor Cost Manual operations are replaced by computer programs Computer control reduces the number of labor, meaning labor cost per unit will reduce, hence Unit product cost will be reduced Page 2

Dr. S.A. Shah

PRODUCTION AUTOMATION (Lecture 8) 3. Levels the Effect of Labor Shortages Labor shortages (In some advanced nations) Automated operations (Are substitute for labor)

4. Reduce Routine Tasks Routine operations causes fatigue and sometimes lead the workers to a boring situations (May result in lack of concentration) General level of working conditions (are improved by automation as routine works are done automatically)

5. Improved Worker Safety Role of worker (supervisory instead of Active participation in a process) Hence the work is made safer

6. Improve Product Quality Defect Rates (Reduced) Accuracy of Machines (High) Fatigue due to repetition work (Eliminated) Manufacturing Processes (Performed with greater uniformity)

7. Reduce Manufacturing Lead Time (MLT) MLT is the time between the customer order and Delivery of the product Operations (Fast and Accurate) Reduced MLT will reduce the WIP Inventory

8. Complex Operations Precision and Complex Geometries (Sometimes difficult to achieve manually) Complex Contours (Mathematically defined surfaces can only be understand by computer controlled systems Examples: Integrated circuits fabrication, Blades Profiles (Turbines and Aircrafts)

9. Flexibility increases Dr. S.A. Shah Page 3

PRODUCTION AUTOMATION (Lecture 8) DISADVANTAGES 1. High initial costs 2. Job cuts of labor 3. Requires skilled labors 4. Maintenance costs are higher

Dr. S.A. Shah

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