Development of the Concept

Having understood the various concepts involved in the Flexible Manufacturing Systems and Cells, let us look at a few of the details and process that must be used in developing a cell for any specified product spectrum. It is understood that the several products that have been grouped into a family to be manufactured in the cell has been completed already. The several steps involved in the process are following :

• Step 1 : Collect and record data
• Step 2 : build up process flow within the cell
• Step 3 : Recognize equipment required and compare it to what is available
• Step 4 : Select/assign equipment
• Step 5 : Build a relationship diagram and an initial cell layout
• Step 6 : Recapture data in the planned cell structure

We shall try to explain briefly some of these aspects along the aim of helping in the design of flexible manufacturing cells.