Title :
Using autonomous modular material handling equipment for manufacturing flexibility
Author :
Johansson, Björn ; Williams, Edward J. ; Alenljung, Tord
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Product & Production Dev., Chalmers Univ. of Technol., Gothenburg, Sweden
Abstract :
This paper describes a modular autonomous material handling equipment solution for flexible automation. Discrete event simulation is in this case used as a tool for shortening time spent in many different phases of a manufacturing systems lifecycle. The paper presents the concept of autonomous modular material handling equipment, and how simulation is used as a support tool and lead time reducer in each lifecycle phase. Furthermore, we describe the knowledge levels needed for using the simulation support and conclude with examples of how this methodology are reducing lead times within a company.
Keywords :
computer integrated manufacturing; discrete event simulation; flexible manufacturing systems; materials handling; production engineering computing; autonomous modular material handling equipment; discrete event simulation; flexible automation; lead time reduction; manufacturing flexibility; manufacturing system lifecycle; simulation support; Control systems; Costs; Enterprise resource planning; Lead time reduction; Manufacturing automation; Manufacturing industries; Manufacturing processes; Manufacturing systems; Materials handling equipment; Production facilities;
Conference_Titel :
Simulation Conference, 2004. Proceedings of the 2004 Winter
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-8786-4
DOI :
10.1109/WSC.2004.1371437