According to the Level of Flexibility

Another classification of FMS is made accordingly to the level of flexibility linked with the system. Two categories are illustrious here:

Dedicated FMS:

This is designed to generate a particular variety of part styles. The product design is considered fixed. Thus, the system might be designed with a certain amount of process specialization to make the operation more efficient.

Random Order FMS:

This is able to handle the substantial variations in part configurations. In order to accommodate these variations, a random order FMS should be more flexible than the dedicated FMS. A random order FMS is able of processing parts that have a higher degree of complexity. Therefore, to deal along with these kinds of complexity, sophisticated computer control system is utilized for this FMS type.

                                                                     Production Rate, Annual Volume

                                         Figure: Differences between Dedicated and Random-order FMS Types