Multi-objective optimization of product variety and manufacturing complexity in mixed-model assembly systems

He, Wenbo; Zhu, Xiaowei; Wang, Hui; Hu, S. Jack; Lin, Zhongqin; Chen, Guanlong

doi:10.1016/j.jmsy.2011.03.002

Cited by 73 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…However, this high product variety increases manufacturing complexity (Wang et al, 2011). According to a study conducted by Paralikas et al (2011) which focused on the effects of body shop product modularity in the automotive industry body part modularity/flexibility will increase assembly utilization by 46.9 percent.…”

Section: Communization and Flexibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing and improving robot spot welding efficiency: a benchmarking study

El-Khalil

2014

Benchmarking: An International Journal

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Purpose -The paper presents a benchmarking analysis that investigates the efficiency gap in relation to spot welding robots in automotive body shops at foreign and domestic companies in North America. The main purpose of this paper is to determine body shop efficiency improvement opportunities for the domestic companies or the Big Three, therefore reducing the competitive gap and improving business performance. Design/methodology/approach -The following paper is an extension of an earlier dissertation study conducted by EL-Khalil that focused on improving body shop overall efficiency. The Harbour Report was utilized to determine the best in class facilities that must be visited for benchmarking purposes. The data and information presented were obtained from the facilities visited through observations and interviews. The research utilized the corresponding facilities' labs in order to perform measurements and inspect product welding efficiency. The data obtained were a result of a two-year benchmarking study. Findings -The inspection results of spot welds applied on the door flange do not justify the utilization of additional spot welding arm designs and/or robots for the domestic companies. The data presented provide a good opportunity for improving business performance at the body shop Big Three facilities. In order to reduce the current competitive gap, decrease cost, and improve utilization, the Big Three must adopt new strategies (i.e. communization of specific vehicles parts).Research limitations/implications -The benchmarking study was limited to the aperture area.Researchers are encouraged to test the propositions further on different types of vehicles and different areas of the vehicle body. Practical implications -Based on the actual findings, this paper presents a case that impacts the improvements of the body shop overall performance in relation to reducing the number of spot welding arm and robot designs at the automotive industry in North America. Originality/value -The presented gap analysis on body shop spot welding efficiency for automotive companies in North America was not conducted previously. Therefore, the data can be utilized as a benchmark target to drive improvements at the domestic automotive body shops.

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Section: Communization and Flexibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing and improving robot spot welding efficiency: a benchmarking study

El-Khalil

2014

Benchmarking: An International Journal

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“…The design of a RAS must also be considered as early as the product design phase to obtain the most economical compromise between product diversification, product modularity, and ease of assembly. Wang et al [28] proposed a similar viewpoint, stating that the product and the manufacturing system should be designed concurrently to mitigate complexity.…”

Section: Product Induced Complexitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The design of reconfigurable assembly stations for high variety and mass customisation manufacturing

Padayachee

Bright

2013

sajie

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The economical production of mass customised and high variety goods is a challenge facing modern manufacturers. This challenge is being addressed, in part, by the on-going development of technologies that facilitate the manufacturing of these goods. Existing technologies require either excessive inbuilt flexibility or frequent changes to the machine set up to provide the manufacturing functions required for the customisation process. This paper presents design principles for automated assembly stations within the scope of mass customisation. Design principles are presented that minimise the hardware and operating complexities of assembly stations, allowing stations to be easily automated for concurrent mixed model assembly with a First In First Out (FIFO) scheduling policy. A reconfigurable assembly station is developed to demonstrate how the proposed design methods simplify the creation and operation of an assembly station for a product family of flashlights. OPSOMMINGDie ekonomiese vervaardiging van grootskaalse aangepaste en hoë verskeidenheid goedere is 'n uitdaging wat hedendaagse vervaardigers in die gesig staar. Die uitdaging word deels geadresseer deur die ontwikkel van tegnologieë wat die vervaardiging van hierdie goedere fasiliteer. Bestaande tegnologieë vereis egter uitgebreide ingeboude aanpasbaarheid of gereelde veranderinge aan die masjienopstelling, om die vervaardigingvermoë deur die aanpassings proses vereis, te verskaf. Hierdie artikel hou ontwerpbeginsels voor vir geoutomatiseerde monteerstasies binne die bestek van massa aanpasbaarheid. Die ontwerpbeginsels minimeer die hardeware-en bedryfkompleksiteit van monteerstasies. Hierdie benadering vergemaklik dit om stasies te outomatiseer vir gelyklopende gemengde model montering met 'n Eerste-In-Eerste-Uit (FIFO) skeduleringsbeleid. 'n Herkonfigureerbare monteerstasie is ontwikkel om te demonstreer hoe die voorgestelde ontwerpbeginsels die skep en bedryf van 'n monteerstasie vir 'n produk-familie van flitsligte vereenvoudig.

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“…Finally, all these requirements must be fulfilled in the most cost-efficient way, considering both investment and operation cost (Lohse et al, 2004;Wang et al, 2011). Some authors believe that total cost of ownership (TCO), modeling and simulation are becoming increasingly important in decisionmaking processes for the selection of suitably assembly system designs (Heilala et al, 2007(Heilala et al, , 2008.…”

Section: Assembly System Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In particular, product family design is essential for the design of a mixed-model assembly system (Wang et al, 2011). A part or product family can be defined as a group of related parts or products which share common parts, which have similar characteristics like geometric shape or size, or which require similar production steps or sequences (Groover, 2001;Jiao et al, 2007).…”

Section: Assembly System Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design of a scalable assembly system for product variety: a case study

Matt

2013

Assembly Automation

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If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a design approach based on the investigation of the sensitivity of assembly systems to volume fluctuations as part of the selection process of alternative design solutions for scalable assembly systems on the basis of a real industrial case study. Design/methodology/approach -A conceptual approach for the (re-)design of a scalable assembly system is developed on the basis of an industrial case research using axiomatic design (AD) for the top level structuring of the framework incorporating useful methods and insights obtained from a thorough literature review and from previous research work. Findings -The findings of this research are limited due to the focused nature of a case study based research. However, the obtained results encourage assuming its transferability to similar problems. Originality/value -Significant research has been done in the design of assembly systems for high product variety, but the review of literature in this field still identifies many opportunities for future research. This paper responds to the clearly identified research need of a methodological guidance regarding the design of scalable assembly systems and offers a practically proven help to improve the efficiency of the design process and the quality of the design results.

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Multi-objective optimization of product variety and manufacturing complexity in mixed-model assembly systems

Cited by 73 publications

References 23 publications

Managing and improving robot spot welding efficiency: a benchmarking study

Managing and improving robot spot welding efficiency: a benchmarking study

The design of reconfigurable assembly stations for high variety and mass customisation manufacturing

Design of a scalable assembly system for product variety: a case study

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