Ch16

Ch 16 Automated Production Lines
Sections:
1. Fundamentals of Automated Production Lines
2. Applications of Automated Production Lines
3. Analysis of Transfer Lines
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Automation, Production Systems, and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, Third Edition, by Mikell P. Groover. 1
Automated Production Lines
 High production of parts requiring multiple processing

operations
 Each processing operation is performed at a workstation and the
stations are physically integrated by means of a mechanized
work transport system to form an automated production line.
 Fixed automation
 Applications:
 Transfer lines used for machining
 Robotic spot welding lines in automotive final assembly
 Sheet metal stamping
 Electroplating of metals
Where to Use
 High product demand
 Requires large production quantities
 Stable product design
 Difficult to change the sequence and content of processing
operations once the line is built
 Long product life
 At least several years
 Multiple operations required on product
 Different operations are assigned to different workstations in
the line
Benefits of
 Low direct labor content
 Low product cost
 High production rates
 Production lead time and work-in-process are minimized
 Factory floor space is minimized
Automated Production Line
“Fixed-routing manufacturing system that consists of multiple

workstations linked together by a material handling system to
transfer parts from one station to the next”
 Slowest workstation sets the pace of the line (bottleneck)
 Workpart transfer:
 Palletized transfer line
 Uses pallet fixtures to hold and move work parts between
stations
 Free transfer line
 Part geometry allows transfer without pallet fixtures
General configuration of an automated production line consisting of n

automated workstations that perform processing operations
System Configurations
 In-line - straight line arrangement of workstations

Common for machining big workpieces, since they require large
number of operations.
 Segmented in-line – two or more straight line segments, usually
perpendicular to each other
Used because of unavailable workspace, need for reorientation of the
workpiece or need for returning the fixtures to the front of the line.
 Rotary indexing machine (e.g., dial indexing machine)
Limited to smaller parts and fewer workstations.
Segmented In-Line Configurations
L-shaped layout
U-shaped layout
Rectangular configuration
Two Machining Transfer Lines
Rotary Indexing Machine
Workpart Transfer Mechanisms
 Linear transfer systems:

 Continuous motion – not common for automated
systems
 Synchronous motion – intermittent motion, all parts
move simultaneously
 Asynchronous motion – intermittent motion, parts
move independently
 Rotary indexing mechanisms:
 Geneva mechanism
 Others
Belt-Driven Linear Transfer System
Side view of chain or steel belt-driven conveyor (over and under type) for linear
transfer using work carriers
Walking Beam Transfer System
Geneva Mechanism with Six Slots
The idea of the mechanism is to translate an input of continuous motion into an output
of intermittent motion.
Cam Mechanism to Drive
Dial Indexing Table
Storage Buffers in Production Lines
“A location in the sequence of workstations where parts can be

collected and temporarily stored before proceeding to
subsequent downstream stations”
 Reasons for using storage buffers:

 To reduce effect of station breakdowns
 To provide a bank of parts to supply the line
 To provide a place to put the output of the line
 To allow curing time or other required delay
 To smooth cycle time variations
 To store parts between stages with different production rates
Storage Buffer
Storage buffer between two stages of a production line
Control Functions in an
 Sequence control
 To coordinate the sequence of actions of the transfer system
and workstations
 Safety monitoring
 To avoid hazardous operation for workers and equipment
 Quality control
 To detect and possibly reject defective work units produced
on the line
Applications of
 Transfer lines for machining (Figure)
 Synchronous or asynchronous workpart transport
 Transport with or without pallet fixtures, depending on part
geometry
 Various monitoring and control features available
 Rotary transfer machines for machining
 Variations include center column machine and trunnion
machine
Rotary Transfer Machine (Plan View)
Center Column Machine (Plan View )
System Design Considerations
 Building block approach: machine tool companies

specialize in transfer lines and indexing machines
 User contracts for custom-engineered line
 Standard modules such as workheads, feed units,
transfer mechanisms, and bases
 Called a unitized production line
 Link line: uses standard machine tools connected by
specialized handling system
 Specialized processes often engineered by the user
company
Standard Feed Units used with
In-Line or Rotary Transfer Machines
(a) Horizontal feed drive unit, (b) angular feed drive unit, and (c) vertical column
feed drive unit
Standard Milling Head
Milling head unit that attaches to one of the feed drive units in the previous slide
Analysis of Transfer Lines
 Three problem areas must be considered:

1. Line balancing
 To divide the total work load among workstations as evenly as possible
 In an automated production line, the tasks consist of processing steps
whose sequence and service times are limited by technological
considerations
2. Processing technology
 Theory and principles about the manufacturing or assembly processes
used on the line
3. System reliability - two cases:
 Transfer lines with no internal parts storage
 Transfer lines with internal storage buffers
25
Lines with No Internal Storage Buffers
Figure
Assumptions:
 The workstations perform processing operations, not assembly
 Processing times at each station are constant, though not
necessarily equal
 Workpart transport is synchronous
 There are no internal storage buffers
Tc  max Tsi   Tr
Assuming stoppages and downtimes on the line, the actual
average production time, Tp is
Tp  Tc  FTd
F= downtime frequency (line stops/cycle)
Td= average downtime per line stop (min)
FTd= downtime averaged on a per cycle basis
Tp  max Tsi   Tr  FTd
pi= probability or frequency of a failure at station i

n= number of stations on the line
n
F   pi
i 1
If pi=p for all i, then F=np
1
Rp 
Tp
Rp= actual average production rate (pieces/min)
1
Rc 
Tc
Rc= ideal production rate (pieces/min)
Line efficiency, E, can be calculated as

Tc Tc
E 
Tp Tc  FTd
E= the proportion of uptime on the production line
FTd FTd
D 
Tp Tc  FTd
D= the proportion of downtime on the production line
E+D=1
The piece cost can be expressed as the sum of the three factors:
Cpc=Cm+CoTp+Ct
Cpc= cost per piece ($/pc)

Cm= cost of starting material ($/pc)
Co= cost per min to operate the line ($/min)
Tp= average production line per piece (min/pc)
Ct= cost of tooling per piece ($/pc)
Example 16.2 Transfer Line Performance
A machine tool builder submits a proposal for a 20- station transfer line
to machine a certain component currently produced by conventional
methods the proposal states component currently produced by
conventional methods. The proposal states that line will operate at a
production rate of 50 pieces per hour at 100% efficiency. On similar
transfer lines, the probability of station breakdowns per cycle is equal for
all stations and p = 0.005 breakdowns/cycle. It is also estimated that the
average downtime per line stop will be 8.0 min. The starting casting that
is machined on the line costs $3.00 per part. The line operates at a cost of
$ 75.00/hr. The 20 cutting tools (one tool per station) last for 50 parts
each, and the average cost per tool = $2.00 per cutting edge. Based on
this data, compute (a) production rate, (b) line efficiency , and (c) cost
per unit piece produced on the line.
What the Equations Tell Us –
Lines with No Storage Buffers
 As the number of workstations increases

 Line efficiency and production rate are adversely affected
 As reliability of individual workstations decreases
 Line efficiency and production rate are adversely affected
Lines with Internal Storage Buffers
Downtime on an automated line due to starving and blocking can be

reduced by adding one or more parts storage buffers between
workstations.
Starving on an automated line means that a workstation is prevented
from performing its cycle because it has no part to work on.
Blocking means that a station is prevented from performing its work
cycle because it cannot pass the part just completed to the
neighboring downstream station.
For an n-stage line, there will be n-1 or less storage buffers, not
including the raw parts inventory or the finished parts inventory.
Figure
Limits of Storage Buffer Effectiveness
Two extreme cases of storage buffer effectiveness can be identified:

1. no buffer storage capacity at all
2. infinite capacity storage buffers
1. No buffer storage capacity

Tc
E0 
Tc  FTd
E0= efficiency of a line with zero storage buffer capacity
2. Infinite capacity storage buffers

No stage will ever be blocked or starved because of a breakdown at
some other stage.
The upper limit on the efficiency of the entire line is determined by
the efficiency of the bottleneck stage.
2. Infinite capacity storage buffers

If Tc is the same for all stages, the efficiency of any stage k is given
by
Tc
Ek 
Tc  Fk Tdk
The efficiency of a line whose storage buffers all have infinite
capacity
E  min Ek 
Hence, the actual value of line efficiency for a given buffer

capacity b will fall somewhere between these extremes
E0<Eb<E
Analysis of a Two-Stage Transfer Line
Tc ,Td Tc ,Td
Stage 1 b Stage 2
F1 F2
Over the long run, both stages must have equal efficiencies.
Otherwise, blocking or starving will occur.
The overall line efficiency for the two-stage line is
Eb  E0  D1h b  E2
Eb=overall line efficiency for a two-stage line with buffer capacity

b
E0= line efficiency for the same line with no internal storage
 Dh b  E  represents the improvement in efficiency

1 2
that results from having a storage buffer with b>0.
Tc
E0 
Tc   F1  F2  Td
D1 is the proportion of total time that stage 1 is down.

FT
D1  1 d
Tc   F1  F2  Td
h b  is the proportion of the downtime D1 (when stage 1 is down)

that stage 2 could be up and operating within the limits of
storage buffer capacity b.
Calculation of h(b): Assume Td1=Td2=Td (equal downtime

distributions) and Tc1=Tc2=Tc (equal cycle times).
Let r be the ratio of breakdown frequencies
F1
r
F2
Assuming constant downtime Td ,
Td  Tc 
given b  B  L where B  b  and
Tc  Td 
Td
L represents the leftover units, the amount by which b  B
Tc
Two cases:
B Tc 1
r  1: h b   L
B 1 Td  B  1 B  2 
r 1  r 
B 1 2
1 r B
Tc
r  1: h b   r L
1 r B 1
Td 1  r B 1 1  r B  2 
44
Finally E2 corrects for the unrealistic assumption in the

calculation of h b  that both stages are never down at the
same time
Tc
E2 
Tc  F2Td
45
Example 16.3 Two-Stage Automated
Production Line
A 20-station transfer line is divided into two stages of 10 stations
each. The ideal cycle time of each stage is Tc = 1.2 min. All of the
stations in the line have the same probability of stopping, p =
0.005 . We assume that the downtime is constant when a
breakdown occurs, Td = 8.0 min. Compute the line efficiency for
the following buffer capacities:
(a) b = 0,
(b) b = ∞,
(c) b = 10,
(d) b = 100.
Example 16.4 Production Rates on the
Two-Stage Automated Production Line
Compute the production rates for the four case in Example 16.3.
The values of Tc = 1.2 minutes as before.
Example 16.4 Transfer Lines with More
Than One Storage Buffer
For the same 20- station transfer line we have been considering in
previous examples, compare line efficiencies and production rates
for the following cases assuming an infinite buffer capacity:
(a) no storage buffers
(b) one buffer
(c) three buffers
(d) 19 buffers.
Assume in the cases (b) and (c) that the buffers are located in the
line so as to equalize the downtime frequencies, that is, all Fi are
equal.
What the Equations Tell Us –
Lines with Storage Buffers
 If E0 and E are nearly equal
 Then little advantage is gained by adding a storage buffer
 If E is much greater than E0
 Then adding a storage buffer may improve line performance
significantly
 Storage buffers should be located so that efficiencies of the stages
are about equal
 Storage buffers should be located so that production rates of the
stages are about equal
 During operation, if any buffers are always empty or always full,
then the buffer is serving little purpose
What the Equations Tell Us -
Lines with Storage Buffers
 The maximum possible efficiency is achieved by:
 Setting the number of stages = number of stations
 Using large buffer capacities
 The “law of diminishing returns” operates in multi-stage
automated lines:
 As the number of storage buffers is increased, line efficiency
improves at an ever-decreasing rate
 As storage buffer capacity is increased, line efficiency
improves at an ever-decreasing rate

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Ch 16 Automated Production Lines

 High production of parts requiring multiple processing

“Fixed-routing manufacturing system that consists of multiple

General configuration of an automated production line consisting of n

 In-line - straight line arrangement of workstations

 Linear transfer systems:

“A location in the sequence of workstations where parts can be

 Reasons for using storage buffers:

Storage buffer between two stages of a production line

 Building block approach: machine tool companies

 Three problem areas must be considered:

Tp  max Tsi   Tr  FTd

pi= probability or frequency of a failure at station i

Line efficiency, E, can be calculated as

Cpc= cost per piece ($/pc)

 As the number of workstations increases

Downtime on an automated line due to starving and blocking can be

Two extreme cases of storage buffer effectiveness can be identified:

1. No buffer storage capacity

E0= efficiency of a line with zero storage buffer capacity

2. Infinite capacity storage buffers

2. Infinite capacity storage buffers

Hence, the actual value of line efficiency for a given buffer

The overall line efficiency for the two-stage line is

Eb=overall line efficiency for a two-stage line with buffer capacity

 Dh b  E  represents the improvement in efficiency

that results from having a storage buffer with b>0.

D1 is the proportion of total time that stage 1 is down.

h b  is the proportion of the downtime D1 (when stage 1 is down)

Calculation of h(b): Assume Td1=Td2=Td (equal downtime

Finally E2 corrects for the unrealistic assumption in the

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