2016/2017

Flexible Manufacturing Systems

ERASMUS
DANIEL CRUZ ACOSTA

Course: Integrated Manufacturing Systems

Flexible Manufacturing Systems 2016/2017

Index
1. Introduction to Flexible Manufacturing Systems ................................................................. 2

2. Basic Concepts of Flexible Manufacturing Systems ............................................................. 3

2.1. Definition ....................................................................................................................... 3

2.2. Flexible manufacturing cell ........................................................................................... 5

2.3. Flexible line.................................................................................................................... 6

2.4. Flexible workshop ......................................................................................................... 6

3. Characteristics of Flexible Manufacturing Systems .............................................................. 6

4. Elements of Flexible Manufacturing Systems ...................................................................... 8

4.1. Pieces: ........................................................................................................................... 8

4.2. Tools: ............................................................................................................................. 8

4.3. Detection of tool wear .................................................................................................. 8

4.4. Tool identification systems ........................................................................................... 8

4.5. Stations for preregulation of tools ................................................................................ 8

4.6. Fixtures: ......................................................................................................................... 8

4.7. Warehouses................................................................................................................... 9

4.8. Machines ....................................................................................................................... 9

4.9. Thermal corrections ...................................................................................................... 9

4.10. Position and speed detection systems ...................................................................... 9

4.11. Measuring stations .................................................................................................... 9

4.12. Transport ................................................................................................................... 9

4.13. Manipulators and robots......................................................................................... 10

5. Control of production cells ................................................................................................. 10

6. Selection of a flexible cell ................................................................................................... 11

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Flexible Manufacturing Systems 2016/2017

1. Introduction to Flexible Manufacturing Systems

Since the 1980s, there has been a change in industrial production policy and systems. The
change is due to several reasons that we can project in:

- Change in the market situation. The market began to be characterized by a decrease in

the growth rate, a diversification of the product to adapt to specific needs of customers,
a higher quality requirement and a global competition.
- Change of products. The products offer every day more and better performance, a wide
range of variants to suit the tastes and needs of customers, a "zero defect" quality
guarantee and a short life cycle due to the constant incorporation of new and
sophisticated technologies.

Conventional factories, designed to produce a standard product in a large series, are on the one
hand, with excess production capacity above the level of demand, and, on the other, with the
impossibility of making variations of the standard product with reasonable costs.

Therefore, a change in the manufacturing systems is necessary.

To achieve the profitability of companies in the current market conditions, production policies
are guided by the following criteria:

- Flexibility of the product and of the production processes.

- Quality and reliability of the product.
- Reduction of response times in the launch of new products.
- Elimination of not strictly necessary costs.
- Reduction of setup and waiting times.
- Automation of processes.
- Increased productivity.

In the market for products that somehow involve the mechanization of metal parts, every day is
more noticeable a strong competitiveness that forces the manufacturer to attract customers by
offering a greater range of products (special products for each customer), shorter delivery times
and best prices. From the point of view of manufacturing, this situation raises the following
requirements:

- High productivity even for small production batches.

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- Reduction of travel times.

- Reduction of stocks.
- Reduction of staff costs.

The implementation of a flexible manufacturing system assures the companies several

advantages:

- Greater competitiveness.
- Higher quality.
- Lower costs.
- Increase in the variety of parts to be manufactured.
- Reduction of batches size.
- Reduction of reaction times.
- Reduction of travel times.
- Reduction of stocks.
- Better use of machines and means of service.

2. Basic Concepts of Flexible Manufacturing Systems

Flexible manufacturing is a system that allows the automatic production of a family of different
parts minimizing, and in some cases eliminating, the additional costs for the change of
manufacture, and which therefore provides a productivity and unit costs reserved previously to
the manufacture of large series.

A flexible manufacturing system is not conditioned by a minimum batch size but can even
produce single pieces in any sequence, always under the premise of the existence of the
corresponding piece program.

2.1. Definition
By "flexible manufacturing system" is meant a group of numerical control machine tools linked
together by a common transport system and a centralized control system. For each piece to be
manufactured, pieces programs are checked and stored in a central data station.

Various CNC machines perform the necessary machining on the pieces of a family, so that the
manufacturing process takes place automatically.

Where possible, automatic machining should not be interrupted by manual tool changes.

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Sophisticated systems can also include a warehouse of materials, measuring machines, and
automatic management of tools in workflows and information. Such a system responds
extensively to the image of a "flexible transfer system" for the cost-effective machining of small
and medium-sized lots.

The use of numerical control machine tools significantly facilitates the continuous adaptation of
design or machining modifications without the normally unavoidable and costly changes of
equipment of traditional transfer systems.

Flexible manufacturing systems can be used for machining both prismatic and rotary parts. This
requires, with different machine tools, different transport systems.

Flexible manufacturing systems are adaptable in two ways:

- In the adaptation to a specific manufacturing task.

- In the adaptation to the different pieces to be machined that happen in any sequence
and batch size.

In order to work in a cost-effective way, a system of this type has to fulfill special manufacturing
conditions, among which are:

- The automated and yet flexible and adaptable manufacture of a family of parts with
geometric and machining similarities.
- The easy adaptation to market-dependent modifications related to lot size or geometry
and technology, as well as the inclusion of new parts in the concept of machining.
- Fully automatic work with minimal manual intervention.
- Possibility of future expansion of the installation without major downtime or excessive
modification of the existing system.
- In case of failure of a component of the system, the other components must be able to
temporarily absorb their tasks.
- The service-oriented design of the entire installation, to facilitate preventive
maintenance and elimination of errors.

Flexible manufacturing systems are a combination of existing components:

- machines tools
- parts transport system

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- parts changing device

- central control system

connected in such a way that they allow the automatic manufacture of batches of medium and
small size.

Under these premises, a profitable mechanization is achieved by:

- The use of the flexibility and productivity of CNC machine tools for the production of
small and medium series.
- More technical and temporary use of the means of manufacture by reducing or
eliminating times of equipment change.
- Automatic change of part, tools and programs of machining depending on the pieces.

A flexible manufacturing system makes it possible to automatically and flexibly manufacture

different parts within a certain range of volumes, sizes and shapes. The greater the flexibility,
the greater the investment and the technical complexity.

It is a suitable technology for the workshops with a great variety of pieces in small series, or with
products of rapid obsolescence, high level of fields and modifications.

It is based on the intensive use of computers coupled to machines and production elements in
monitoring, control and management functions.

- First experiences, machines with numerical control, manipulators and robots all
coordinated by means of a sophisticated control system with computer.
- Later developments incorporate the concept of "modularity", configuring the "flexible
workshop" as a set of a series of autonomous productive elements: "flexible
manufacturing cells".

2.2. Flexible manufacturing cell

Generally, by the flexible manufacturing cell is meant a single machine complemented with
devices for a time-limited operation for the complete machining of parts without the attention
of the operator.

To do this, it is needed:

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- A stock of pieces in the form of pallets loaded or pallet stores with one piece each, for
operation during a shift.
- Automatic feed to the machine from the parts warehouse.
- A tool monitoring device for the control of breakage or wear with the automatic
replacement of equivalent tools.
- A dimensional control of the machined parts integrated in the machine or external to
the machine with the measurement devices separated, occasionally with automatic
feedback for modification of the correction values in the machine with a signal of
disconnection in case of falling out of tolerances.
- The automatic return of the machined pieces to the pieces store.
- The automatic stop of the machine once machined the stock of pieces or in case of
detection of an error.

2.3. Flexible line

Several machines with numerical control or flexible cells, are related to each other by a system
of transport of pieces and identification. They generally have on-line automated warehouses of
pieces and tools. They allow random entry of great diversity of pieces and the line management
software assigns them to the most suitable machine. The computer that coordinates the line
also performs production and functions scheduling.

2.4. Flexible workshop

It has all manufacturing functions incorporated and integrated within the flexible manufacturing
philosophy. The systems of reception, inspection, storage, transport, mechanization,
verification, assembly, inspection and distribution are fully automated and coordinated by a
central computer and through the satellite computers of each function or workshop. Just as cells
and flexible lines are generally sized to handle a more or less extensive family of parts, a flexible
workshop can produce all kinds of parts that are needed. The sophistication of the system in
computer programs, rationalization and standardization of product and manufacturing means,
in control and management systems, makes that today the flexible workshop is only available
for the leading companies in technological renewal.

3. Characteristics of Flexible Manufacturing Systems

The flexible manufacturing consists of an automatic process of machining and inspection,
maintenance and transport, under a control element that coordinates all elementary operations
of the equipment.

The functions of this automatic system are:

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- Automatic machining
- Automatic change of parts and tools
- Automatic transport between machines
- Identification of parts and tools
- Autocorrection of deviations
- Management of machines, materials and tools

Thanks to this, the FMS have the following characteristics:

- Flexibility

In the product as for: shape, dimensions, materials, foresight...

In production in terms of quantity, batches, programs ...

- Automation

In machining, piece change, tool change, transport, identification, pieces cleaning, pieces
verification...

- Productivity

Due to the unattended manufacturing, speed of tools change, speed of pieces change, few
failures, optimization of machining ...

- Product quality

Insured by the inspection of parts, machine precision, thermal stability, rigidity of machines,
autocorrection...

- Reliability of the process

Thanks to the control of wear, control of deviations, control of machining conditions, preventive
maintenance...

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4. Elements of Flexible Manufacturing Systems

4.1. Pieces:

In a flexible factory the product is designed with the manufacturing process in mind. Similar
parts are grouped into families, both from the point of view of the database, and from the point
of view of manufacture in flexible manufacturing cells.

4.2. Tools:

The large number of tools needed for the machining of a large family of parts, with the diversity
of coupling types used by different machine manufacturers, together with the need to reduce
tool change times, has led to a major change in the design of the same. The monoblock tool,
which is directly attached to the machine, has been converted to a modular concept.

The modular tools consist of a coupling, an adapter and the tool itself. The coupling is always
mounted on the tool holder of the machine and on it can be fixed a great variety of tools, either
directly or through an adapter, in this way a same tool can be used in different machines.

4.3. Detection of tool wear

The wear of the tools can be detected by theoretical calculation, or by measuring the wear
directly or indirectly.

4.4. Tool identification systems

Fixed code capsules, programmable code capsules, bar codes, etc.

4.5. Stations for preregulation of tools

They are specific stations to determine or measure tool offsets, outside the machines.

4.6. Fixtures:

To reduce the assembly time of the pieces in machines is generally used the palletization,
especially in the machining centers. The pallet is an element that allows to make flexible the
assembly of any piece to the machine since what is coupled is always the pallet, not the piece
or pieces that have been previously incorporated to it. That is to say, the assembly for machining,
typical of each part and which is generally slow, is carried out outside the machine, in a pallet
assembly station. This operation can be done manually or automatically, using robots.

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4.7. Warehouses

One of the goals of flexible manufacturing is the elimination of stocks, both of finished products
and materials in the process of manufacture or raw. The stock, besides a high financing cost,
provides an element of rigidity in relation to the modification and renewal of the product.
Therefore, along with the techniques that make production flexible, the stock reduction (JIT -
just in time) is adopted.

4.8. Machines

Within a flexible manufacturing philosophy, machines are characterized by flexibility in their

functions. Flexibility is the ability to mechanize different parts automatically without the need
for prior preparation by the operator.

4.9. Thermal corrections

The machines can have sensors that measure the temperature of the tool and the structure of
the machine, and can automatically correct deviations by thermal expansion.

4.10. Position and speed detection systems

CNC machines have position sensors to accurately determine the position of the tool relative to
the part automatically. These sensors give an electrical signal proportional to that position,
which is sent to the corresponding numerical control.

4.11. Measuring stations

They are used to measure parts outside where they are machined. They can be automated or
not. They have the advantage of not reducing the productivity of the machine where it is
machined

4.12. Transport

The transport system must guarantee the movement of parts between the machines, that is,
between their loading and unloading elements, and between these and the warehouses.

The elements of a transport system can be:

- Conveyor belt
- Rollers

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- Chains
- Monorails
- AGV (Automat Guided Vehicles)

4.13. Manipulators and robots

According to the traditional definition, industrial robots are freely programmable manipulation
devices with different degrees of freedom that can incorporate clamps or tools.

Depending on the control used, they are able to perform more or less complex movements and
tasks. Its basic characteristic is the rapid adaptability to modified secondary conditions and to
different tasks. For this purpose, specific programs are created in each case and stored in the
control and called and executed, in accordance with the development of the process, in any
sequence.

5. Control of production cells

In order for the set of machines and maintenance and transport elements to work automatically,
according to the expected cycles of operations, a system of coordination and control of the
entire installation is required. These functions of coordinated operation of each and every one
of the elements, are included within the control system formed by a set of electronic devices
(hardware) linked together by a communication network and a series of programs (software) of
the different sequences of operations to be carried out.

Automation features include:

- Identify the parts and select the machining, inspection, handling and transport programs
accordingly.
- Order the execution of each and every one of the elementary operations of all the
machines, tools and equipment of maintenance and transport.
- Monitor production by collecting the necessary material flow data, machine operation,
operating times, etc. That allow to know at all times the state of it.
- React to abnormal situations (breakage of tools, breakdowns, lack of materials, etc.)
according to the procedures provided to minimize the effects of them.

The automation elements are: actuators and sensors connected to numerical control
equipment, programmable controllers, identification equipment, microcomputers and display
terminals. The control programs contain the sequence of elementary operations to be

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developed by all the elements. Different data are also recorded to provide the operator with
CNC information on machines and different computer systems.

6. Selection of a flexible cell

The technical characteristics to take into account in the selection are:

General characteristics:

- Machine type
- Number of axes
- Number of axes simultaneously controlled
- Working speed
- Power in each axis
- Precision and repeatability
- Work volume

Features depending on the tool:

- Warehouse capacity
- Time of change
- Break detection
- Wear control
- Identification
- Couplings

Features depending on the part:

- Handy dimensions and weights

- Time of change
- Forecast of the position
- Warehouse capacity
- Machine Measurement

Auxiliary function features:

- Chip evacuation
- Refrigeration

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- Preventive Maintenance
- Self-diagnosis
- Access to the machine
- Security

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