Manufacturing Systems: Types and Main Characteristics

The manufacturing systems are the different processes of transformation and production of a material or raw material through the use of tools, machinery, energy and work. The term manufacture is of Latin origin: manus means"hand"and Facts it means"done".

Thus, the word"manufacture"means"made by hand", but by extension it is applied to the current productive process, which involves techniques, machines and people. Manufacturing systems are fundamental in society for the manufacture of products or parts, efficiently and with quality.

Each of these systems has various characteristics of varied nature and of different types. In addition, the materials subjected to the process of industrialization differ from each other through their shape, strength, size, density or aesthetics.

In the manufacture of new products, a series of operations and processes of various kinds are involved, but all have as their main objective to modify the physical characteristics and the properties of the materials used, in order to create a new element.

The 2 t major types of manufacturing systems

Manufacturing engineering classifies or divides these processes into two categories: continuous and discrete.

Continuous process

Its main characteristic is the production of batches of products by quantity or weight, whose evaluation is carried out through a group of variables of continuous range.

These variables are physical or chemical, such as weight, strength, volume, color, time, density, conductivity, elasticity, viscosity and transparency, among others.

For example, continuous processes are used in the production of minerals, steel, gasoline, foams and industrial gases.

Discrete process

This process produces pieces, parts, assemblies or components that can be easily counted and classified as products, whose properties or attributes may be acceptable or not acceptable according to their quality.

The attributes in this process are measured by non-continuous scales or by numbering or counting scales.

Examples of this process are the manufacture of parts of vehicles -plastic or steel- and the manufacture of electronic circuits, among others.

As in the continuous process, in the discrete process, components or accounting parts can be manufactured that can be evaluated or classified as high or low quality.

In this category come the fruit harvests or feet of young, with certain characteristics of weight, volume, phenotype, among others.

Main characteristics of traditional manufacturing systems

To become more efficient and competitive, currently productive organizations have had to adopt new technologies, improve their systems and production methods and adapt to markets.

The particularities of the manufacturing systems are very varied in terms of density, shape, size, aesthetics or strength. These systems are used in the field of industry.

However, there are still many companies with traditional manufacturing systems, whose main characteristics are:

- They are designed for specific products.

- The flow is online, by the way in which the machines are arranged in a row.

- The process ends in the last machine in the row.

- The inventory of products in the production chain is low.

- Eliminate costs more efficiently.

- The variety of products is low.

- The machines manufacture specific products. They are not adaptable, as is the case today.

- There is low demand for products.

Flexible manufacturing systems

The term flexibility is used to define an attribute that allows a manufacturing system - flexible or mixed - to deal with a certain level of variation in the styles of products or parts.

This is achieved without implying the interruption of the production process while making the changes between models.

This feature is very desirable in all manufacturing systems. These types of systems are also called flexible manufacturing systems or flexible assembly systems.

characteristics

- All work units are identified.

- The manufacturing system identifies the work unit in order to execute the correct operation. Different styles of products or parts are required for different operations.

- Changes of operating instructions are made quickly.

- Quick change of the physical installation.

The flexibility allows different styles of products to be manufactured without loss of time, since these are not produced in batches and quick adjustments can be made between one and another unit.

World-class manufacturing

World-class manufacturing is a concept created by manufacturing consultant Richard Schonberger.

Its main objective is to enhance the human and technological resources towards the manufacture of products more efficiently, by increasing its operability and speed.

The category of world-class manufacturing involves a process of adaptation to production procedures and concepts of relationships with customers, suppliers, producers and distributors.

There are 6 types of world-class manufacturing:

One piece flow

The manufacturing system"piece by piece"consists in the organization of the manufacture of products based on the continuous flow or production of a single piece, which is not grouped in batches but passes from one station to another as it is being manufactured.

The objective of this type of manufacturing is that there is a continuous and fluid production process for each work section.

The pieces are manufactured quickly, do not accumulate between a machine and a stricter control of the stock is maintained.

Just in time (Just in time)

His philosophy is to define how production time is optimized. This is summed up in"doing it right the first time".

This type of manufacturing production is focused on the attention of the demand from the efficiency in the procedures of the machinery and its operators.

This system is summarized in manufacturing the type of parts requested in the amount and time required.

Toyota production system

The success of the Japanese and Korean manufacturers is due to this manufacturing system. This system eliminates all the unnecessary procedures of the manufacturing process, which serves to reduce production costs and prices.

It is based on quality control, adapted to fluctuations in demand in terms of variety and quantity of products.

Another fundamental foundation of this system is the assurance of quality in each process of manufacturing the product and respect for the staff as the most important asset of the organization.

Ford production system

The great contribution of this system to the industry was the organization of serial and mass production of products. This caused an expansion of supply and demand, by increasing production and reducing costs.

The Ford system (the assembly line) is based on increasing the division of labor, increasing the control of productive work of the worker, mass production, reducing costs and increasing the movement of goods, in other aspects.

Demand flow technology

This system focuses on the creation of high-quality technological products in the shortest time possible at least cost.

It reduces everything that does not add value to the product and emphasizes the emphasis on the quality of the machinery and the operator.

The premises of the DFT system are to produce only what is necessary and to program the daily production according to the real demand, to promote the culture of quality in the work of each employee, to use the Karban system and to eliminate or reduce waiting for the client.

Lean manufacturing

By its name in English, the Lean manufacturing it is based on several work tools that allow eliminating all those activities of the productive process that do not add value to the product and increase costs.

It relies on almost all previous systems: Just in time, the pull system, the kanban, visual control, total productive maintenance, minimization of change times (SMED) and kaizen (change to improve) .

References

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