Type of manufacturing system

Type of manufacturing system

Flow shops or continuous manufacturing system 

• Continuous manufacturing systems are designed to enable the mass production of a single product with a special-purpose machine. 
• This system can have high production rates. 
• The product goes through an assembly line with different stations where parts are added or worked on a little further.
• The skill level of the laborer tends to be lower than in production job shop
• The material flow is through a sequence of operations by material handling devices. 
• This type of production system is ideal when a company has very high volume targets since it reduces the unit cost of the product.
• The time the item spends in each station or location is fixed and equal.
• The workstations are arranged in line according to the processing sequence needed

problems in a streamlined flow

1. Ensuring continuous flow
2. Work/Capacity Balancing
3. Importance of Maintenance Management
4. Good Quality Assurance System

Intermittent Manufacturing System

1. The intermittent manufacturing system permits companies to make different types of goods using the same production line. 
2. The manufacturing facility is designed to handle different product sizes and requirements. Generally, the goods are processed in batches to fulfill orders.
3. This system is commonly referred to as a “job shop” due to its popularity in countries with relatively cheap labor making products for multinationals based thousands of miles away. 
4. The goods made using this manufacturing method are produced in small quantities, so they may not be suitable for stock. Customization is typically done post-purchase.
5. This type of system is designed for production runs that happen intermittently, hence the name, or products that don’t require high volumes. 
6. It uses general-purpose machines and requires highly skilled labor.

Feature of Intermittent Manufacturing System

• Characterized by mid-volume, mid-variety products/services
• Increases the flow complexities
• Flow and capacity balancing are difficult but important
• Batch Processing
• Alternative methods of work organization
• Capacity Estimation is hard
• Production Planning & Control is complex

Flexible Manufacturing Systems or jumbled manufacturing-

• Flexible manufacturing is a modern manufacturing system that has become very popular. 
• An FMS integrates all major elements of manufacturing into a highly automated system
• It involves a significant investment in machinery, although it reduces labor costs by implementing robots eschewing human labor altogether. 
• These machines can easily be reconfigured to manufacture different products in different quantities, and the whole process is automatic.
• This method is called flexible manufacturing due to the flexibility in the variety of high-volume goods it can produce. 
•  In this process major capital investment and efficient machine utilization are essential. 
• Due to the automated process, quality control is a lot easier, and unit costs are low.

Advantages of FMS

1. Parts can be produced randomly in batch sizes, as small as one, and at a lower cost.
2. The lead times required for product changes are shorter.
3. Labour and inventories are reduced.
4. Production is more reliable because the system is self-correcting and so product quality is uniform.
5. Increased machine utilization.
6. Fewer machines required.
7. Reduced factory floor space.
8. Greater responsiveness to change