Prerequisite: Exposure to relevant concepts at undergraduate level and instructor consent
Contents
Overview of design, planning, scheduling and control decision problems of flexible manufacturing systems; part type selection, grouping of machines, parts production ratios, allocation of pallets and fixtures, and machine loading and part routing, parts input strategy, real time scheduling, hierarchy in solution procedures.
Methodologies for analysis/optimization and their range of applications. Open and closed queuing networks, estimation of average production rate, queue lengths and machine utilizations, Mean value Analysis(MVA), mathematical programming for machine loading and part routing subject to practical constraints, concepts for optimizing flow-control and route-control, scheduling techniques for a flexible manufacturing line, FMS scheduling with dynamic features such as look-ahead, scheduling for machine centers served by a cyclic conveyor, sequencing problems in NC punch process. AGV scheduling, stacker crane scheduling, sequencing of robot activities, concepts of timed Petri Nets, scope for use of expert systems, use of simulation methods. Performance evaluation of FMS.
References:
- A. Kusiak (Ed.) (1986), Modeling and Design of Flexible manufacturing Systems, Elsevier Science Publishers, Amsterdam.
- A. Raouf and S.I. Ahmed (Eds) (1986), Flexible Manufacturing, Elsevier.
- A. Kusslak (Ed.) (1986), Flexible Manufacturing Systems; Methods and Studies, North Holland.
- P.G. Ranky (1990), Flexible manufacturing Cells and systems in CIM, CIM Ware Ltd, Guildford, Surrey, U.K.
- N. Viswanadham and Y. Narahari (1992), Performance Modelling of Automated Manufacturing Systems, Prentice Hall, N.J.
- Selected articles in standard international Journals such as Int. J. of FMS, IJPR,IIE Transaction etc.