FMS and Its Role in CIM Environment

As explained in above section, FMS ensures quality product at lowest expense while maintaining small lead-time. Thus, firms adopt FMS as a means of meeting burgeoning needs of customized production. Main cause of FMS is to achieve efficiency of well-balanced transfer line whereas retaining the flexibility of the job shop (Stecke, 1983, 1985). A flexible manufacturing system (FMS) contains four or more processing workstations associated mechanically by a common part handling system and electronically by a distributed computer system. This covers a wide spectrum of manufacturing activities such like machining, sheet metal working, fabricating, welding scheduling and assembly. Advantages of processes included in flexible manufacturing system over the conventional methods are given in Table.

                           Table: Comparison between Attributes of Flexible and Conventional Manufacturing Systems