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Prince Industries Uses Flexible Manufacturing System
THE CHALLENGE
Prince Industries of Carol Stream, Ill., is a precision contract manufacturer of machine components, assemblies, hydraulic valves and fabrications.
The company wanted to expand through a flexible manufacturing system in order to reduce setups and have the ability to deliver a completed part from the design to production stage in a shorter period of time.
The company invested in these five machines:
• A MMC2 modular machining complex with 161 pallet stations
• Two a61 horizontal machining centers with automatic tool changers
• Two a71 horizontal machining center for heavier machining on cast iron
• A S33 vertical machining center with dual pallet changer
In one work cell at Prince, there are two a61 machines, an a71 and the MMC2 system. This flexible manufacturing cell is used for high-mix and low- to medium-volume orders.
The S33 machine provides Prince with a flexible mini-cell for quick setup and changeovers. This cell is used for running short, flat parts of 10 to 15 count batches with the automatic pallet changer.
Benefits obtained
Prince runs 24 full pallets of work around the clock, seven days a week. A part has never been rejected, and all scrap has been eliminated. Every part comes off of the cell and goes straight to the customer.
Productivity per hour increased by 50 percent as Prince is able to go from producing three to four parts per hour on stand-alone machines to six parts per hour.
If the company receives an order from a customer, it can acquire material the same day, provide one setup and then start production immediately. In addition, customers with lower volume jobs receive the same part cost as they had with mass production runs.
Quality has increased. Prince can manage three-dimensional parts having tight tolerances on several different positions, with diameter tolerances of 0.00052 inches. The company estimates it’s saving 20 to 30 percent in cycle time on tool changes alone. It runs a flexible manufacturing system for 22 hours a day and has yet to have one rejected part come across its machines.
The new cell requires less setup and labor. Operator intervention has been reduced from one operator per machine per shift to one operator per three to four machines per shift. Prince can run three jobs simultaneously while the operator prepares the next three jobs within the cell.
It is estimated that the MMC2 and associated horizontal machines will have paid for themselves in one and a half years.
The tools that were added to the S33 mini-cell eliminate post-production deburring, saving on benchwork, cleanup washing and post-production time. This efficiency gain eliminates another 5 to 10 percent in cycle time.
https://www.competitiveproduction.com/articles/crowning-achievement/
Flexible Manufacturing System A Modern Approach To Manufacturing Technology
April 2016
http://www.irjes.com/Papers/vol5-issue4/C541623.pdf
Implementation Of Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) And Its Quantitative Analysis For Pump
Industries
MARCH 2020
http://www.ijstr.org/final-print/mar2020/Implementation-Of-Flexible-Manufacturing-Systemfms-And-Its-Quantitative-Analysis-For-Pump-Industries.pdf
FMS productivity variables
1) Training;
2) Financial incentive;
3) Unit labour cost;
4) Effect of tool life;
5) Customer satisfaction;
6) Reduction in scrap percentage;
7) Reduction in rework percentage;
8) Reduction of rejection;
9) Equipment utilization;
10) Trained worker;
11) Manufacturing lead time & setup time;
12) Unit manufacturing cost;
13) Throughput time;
14) Set up cost;
15) Automation ;
16) Use of automated material handling devices;
17) Reduction in material flow;
18) Reduced work in process inventory;
19) Capacity to handle new product;
20) Ability of manufacturing of variety of product
Modelling and analysis of FMS productivity variables by ISM, SEM and GTMA approach
Article in Frontiers of Mechanical Engineering · September 2014
UD -21 May 2021
Pub 19 May 2021
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