Analyzing the effect of installing diagnostic equipment in a manufacturing cell

Abstract

An approach to determine whether diagnostic equipment should be incorporated in an FMS (flexible manufacturing system) is presented. The effect of installing diagnostics on the number of machines required and on material flow in a cell is studied. An attempt has been made to model the cost and benefits associated with the installation of diagnostic equipment. The approach uses Markovian modeling techniques to estimate the number of machines required with and without diagnostics. The methodology developed can be used by the designers of machines in an FMS to plan for providing diagnostic equipment for a level of production rate that represents maximum cost-effectiveness for the overall system.<>