A tool provisioning problem in an FMS

A fundamental decision in designing a flexible manufacturing system (FMS) is the number and types of tools (cutters) to provide for system operation. This tool provisioning decision becomes especially important when space and equipment must be provided for refurbishing and storing tools within the FMS. In this article, the authors describe in detail the tool provisioning problem for a particular application, discuss approaches to making the tool provisioning decision, and explain why analytic models for this problem may be difficult to develop.