Book Reference

 Automation, Production Systems, and Computer-Integrated

Manufacturing, 4e
- Mikell P. Groover

 Industrial Robotics (Technology, Programming, and Applications), 2e

- Mikell P. Groover, Mitchel Weiss, Roger N. Nagel, Nicholas G. Odrey,
Ashish Dutta
Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM)
Course Code: IPE 4231

Chapter 1
Introduction

Instructor: Md. Rasel Sarkar

Dept. of IPE, RUET, Rajshahi, Bangladesh
Academic Year: 2021-22
Production Systems
- a collection of people, equipment, and procedures organized to
perform the manufacturing operations of a company.
It consists of two major components –

1. Facilities. The physical facilities of the production system like the

factory, equipment, the way the equipment is laid out.

2. Manufacturing support systems. These are the procedures used by

the company to manage production and to solve the technical and
logistics problems.
Figure The production system
Manufacturing support systems
(1) business functions – The business functions are the principal means
by which the company communicates with the customer.
(2) product design – design provided by customer or development and
design by manufacturing firm.
(3) manufacturing planning – manufacturing planning include process
planning, master scheduling, material requirements planning, and
capacity planning.
(4) manufacturing control – Included in this function are shop floor
control, inventory control, and quality control.
Automation in Production Systems
 Automated Manufacturing systems
 Computerized Manufacturing support systems

Automated Manufacturing systems

Automated systems. An automated system is one in which a process is
performed by a machine without the direct participation of a human
worker. Automation is implemented using a program of instructions
combined with a control system that executes the instructions.
Examples of automated manufacturing systems include:
 Automated machine tools that process parts
 Transfer lines that perform a series of machining operations
 Automated assembly systems
 Automatic material handling and storage systems to integrate
manufacturing operations
 Automatic inspection systems for quality control etc.

Classification of automated manufacturing systems

(1) Fixed automation – Fixed automation is a system in which the
sequence of processing (or assembly) operations is fixed by the equipment
configuration.
Typical features of fixed automation are -
(1) high initial investment for custom-engineered equipment
(2) high production rates, and
(3) inflexibility of the equipment to accommodate product variety.

(2) Programmable automation – In programmable automation, the

production equipment is designed with the capability to change the
sequence of operations to accommodate different product
configurations. Some of the features are -
(1) high investment in general-purpose equipment
(2) lower production rates than fixed automation
(3) flexibility to deal with variations and changes in product configuration
(4) high suitability for batch production.
(3) Flexible automation – A flexible automated system is capable of
producing a variety of parts or products with virtually no time lost for
changeovers from one design to the next. Features of flexible
automation include

1) high investment for a custom-engineered system

(2) continuous production of variable mixtures of parts or products
(3) medium production rates, and
(4) flexibility to deal with product design variations.
Figure Three types of automation relative to production quantity and
product variety
Computerized Manufacturing support systems
- aimed at reducing the amount of manual and clerical effort in product
design, manufacturing planning and control, and the business
functions of the firm.
- computer technology is used to implement automation of the
manufacturing systems in the factory as well.
Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) denotes the pervasive use
of computer systems to design the products, plan the production,
control the operations, and perform the various information processing
functions needed in a manufacturing firm.
- CIM involves the information-processing activities of the four basic
manufacturing support functions: (1) business functions, (2) product
design, (3) manufacturing planning, and (4) manufacturing control.
Reasons for automating
 Increase labor productivity
 Reduce labor cost
 Mitigate the effects of labor shortages
 Reduce or eliminate routine manual and clerical tasks
 Improve worker safety
 Improve product quality
 Reduce manufacturing lead time
 Accomplish processes that cannot be done manually
 Avoid the high cost of not automating
Automation Principles
The USA principle
The USA Principle is a commonsense approach to automation and
process improvement projects.

USA stands for -

U - understand the existing process
S - simplify the process
A - automate the process.
(1) Understand the existing process
What are the inputs? What are the outputs? What exactly happens to
the work unit2 between input and output? What is the function of the
process? How does it add value to the product?

Some of the traditional industrial engineering charting tools used in

methods analysis are useful in this regard, such as the operation chart
and the flow process chart.

Mathematical models of the process may also be useful to indicate

relationships between input parameters and output variables.
(2) Simplify the process
This often involves a checklist of questions about the existing process.
What is the purpose of this step or this transport? Is the step
necessary? Can it be eliminated? Does it use the most appropriate
technology? How can it be simplified?

(3) Automate the process

Once the process has been reduced to its simplest form, then
automation can be considered. The possible forms of automation
include those listed in the ten strategies discussed in the following
section.
Ten strategies for automation
1. Specialization of operations
2. Combined operations
3. Simultaneous operations
4. Integration of operations
5. Increased flexibility
6. Improved material handling and storage
7. On-line inspection
8. Process control and optimization
9. Plant operations control
10. Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM)
Automation Migration strategy

Phase 1: Manual production

Phase 2: Automated production
Phase 3: Automated integrated production