Economic analysis of a high-volume flexible manufacturing system by high-speed processing

Agility in manufacturing requires a quick response to the changes in quantity of products without losing productivity. A high-volume flexible manufacturing system (HV-FMS) attains the high flexibility as well as the high volume production. We consider in this paper the energy-saving effect of HV-FMS from the viewpoint of consumed electric power. We take a production system of cylinder heads for automobile engines as a subject in this study, and draw a comparison of the energy-saving effect between HV-FMS and flexible transfer line to verify the effectiveness of HV-FMS. Moreover, we discuss the economic effect of high-speed processing at HV-FMS. We measure the energy-saving effect by high-speed processing and give the permissible level for additional tooling cost.