Relation of Process Design to Types of Process Flow

There is a definite relationship between the production process and process flow. For continuous manufacturing the methods and processes must be determined before the line is step up. The process design is built into the line. Once processing lines are established, any further changes in methods should be held to a minimum owing t the dependency of each operation on all preceding operations, changes usually require that the line be shutdown with consequent loss of production. Changes in the line for improvement of methods are usually require that the line be shut down with consequent loss of production. Change in the for improvement of methods are usually held up until product design itself is changed. For continuous flows process design must be thorough and accurate and tools and equipment must be highly specialized.

For intermittent process flows no lines are set up. The process engineer is usually required to adapt the methods and processes to the types of equipment available. General purpose machine tools and equipment are employed, as each machine may be used for varying operations on many different components of the product. Changes in methods can easily be effected without affecting the overall productive capacity of the plant.