DESIGN AND UTILIZATION OF A LOW-COST FLEXIBLE MANUFACTURING CELL

Abstract

This paper describes how to establish and efficiently utilize a low-cost Flexible Manufacturing (FM) cell for education, light machining and assembly operations. The cell comprises a microcomputer, manufacturing workstations, material handling devices and in-house designed robots. The microcomputer controls the machining operations and supervises the automation procedure. The workstations contain modified or as-is off-the-shelf machining equipment. The design and modifications were done using modular components according to planned scheme. The paper describes efficient cell utilization techniques and discusses practical issues of decision support. Efficient utilization of the FM cell has been demonstrated via production of several parts.