Unit 1: Manufacturing System
Manufacturing System
A manufacturing system is a set of processes and operations used to convert raw materials into finished products. It includes everything from input (raw materials, energy, labor) to the output (final product).
Components of Manufacturing System
Importance of Manufacturing for Technological and Socioeconomic Developments
✅ Technological Development
Manufacturing encourages innovation and technological progress. New tools, machines, and methods are developed to increase efficiency and quality. Example: Robotics in car manufacturing leads to better quality and faster production.
✅ Socioeconomic Development
Production vs. Productivity
Strategic Benefits of Plant Location
Choosing the right plant location can save costs, improve logistics, and
ensure better resource availability.
✅ Key Factors & Benefits
Strategic Benefits of Plant Layouts
✅ Plant Layout refers to the arrangement of machines, equipment, and
workers in a plant to ensure smooth workflow.
✅ Types of Layouts
Benefits
- Improved productivity
- Lower material handling cost
- Better space utilization
- Reduced production time
Types of Manufacturing Systems
1. Job Shop Manufacturing System
A job shop produces small quantities of customized products. Each
product is made to specific customer orders.
🔹 Characteristics:
- Low volume, high variety
- Uses general-purpose machines
- Skilled labor required
- Highly flexible
🔹 Example: A machine workshop that makes custom-designed
machine parts for different clients.
🔹 Industries: Tool and die shops, hospitals (customized
treatments), custom furniture workshops.
2. Mass Production System
Mass production involves manufacturing large quantities of
standardized products using assembly lines.
🔹 Characteristics:
- High volume, low variety
- Specialized machines and labor
- Very efficient
- Less flexible
🔹 Example: Car manufacturing in a Ford assembly plant where
the same model is produced in bulk.
🔹 Industries: Automobiles, electronics (like TVs),
packaged foods.
3. Batch Production System
Products are made in batches — a fixed number of identical items are
produced, then the machine is reset for another product.
🔹 Characteristics:
- Medium volume, medium variety
- Equipment used for multiple purposes
- More efficient than job shop, more flexible than mass production
🔹 Example: A bakery making 100 chocolate cakes, then 100
vanilla cakes.
🔹 Industries: Pharmaceuticals, bakeries, textile printing.
4. Project Shop Manufacturing System
Used for large, complex, and one-time projects where the product stays
in one location, and tools/labor come to it.
🔹 Characteristics:
- Unique product
- Long time duration
- Highly skilled labor required
🔹 Example: Shipbuilding, aircraft manufacturing, or
construction of buildings.
🔹 Industries: Construction, aerospace, oil rigs.
5. Continuous Process Manufacturing System
Products are manufactured non-stop, 24/7. Materials move continuously
through the system.
🔹 Characteristics:
- High volume, no variety
- Fully automated
- Used for products that cannot be broken into parts
🔹 Example: Oil refinery or chemical plants where production
runs without interruption.
🔹 Industries: Petrochemicals, cement, electricity
generation.
6. Linked Cell System (Cellular Manufacturing System)
Workstations and equipment are arranged into cells to manufacture
families of similar products.
🔹 Characteristics:
- Combines benefits of job shop and mass production
- Reduced movement and inventory
- High flexibility
🔹 Example: A cell in an electronics factory dedicated to
producing all variations of mobile phone batteries.
🔹 Industries: Automobile parts, electronics, metal
fabrication.
7. Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS)
An automated system of machines and material handling controlled by a
central computer that can quickly adapt to changes in the product
being made.
🔹 Characteristics:
- High flexibility
- Automation and computer integration
- Can handle a variety of products without long changeover time
🔹 Example: A robotic system in a factory that can switch
between making different models of smartphones.
🔹 Industries: Electronics, customized machinery,
automobile manufacturing.