Machine combination analysis procedure for selecting optimal factory cell composition

Cellular Manufacturing is a manufacturing strategy that capitalizes on part processing similarities to improve the performance of the factory. It has extensive applications in the metalworking and machining industries and is a viable alternative to traditional functional shop layouts. Research in this area focuses on cell formation, factory comparisons, scheduling strategies, and planning and control issues.; This research examined the relationship between manufacturing input parameters and factory performance in a cellular manufacturing environment. The independent factors investigated include the process structure and product structure represented by operation capability and work content, respectively. Dependent variables explored include factory throughput and flow time. C-language programs created raw manufacturing data used in the manufacturing simulation program.; The study revealed that a relationship exists between the input parameters of the part/operation matrix and the factory performance. Evidence suggested that operation capability, represented by the number of parts each operation processed, had a significant effect on factory performance. In addition, the process structure and product structure significantly affected the throughput performance of the factories. Under the conditions assumed in the study, cellular manufacturing performed competitively with a traditional manufacturing strategy.; The study proposed a cell formation methodology designed to exploit relationships reported in the operations management literature. The proposed methodology identifies optimal manufacturing strategies using certain selection criteria. Traditional methodologies typically do not compare performance variables that are widely used by operations managers for selecting manufacturing strategies against that of optimal strategies. The proposed method selects a strategy based solely on its ability to optimally satisfy criteria desired by the operations managers.; The results of this research revealed potential for future research using the simulation methodology from this study to gain a more in-depth analysis of the relationship between cellular manufacturing and traditional strategies. Further comparative studies using the proposed cell formation method incorporating additional factory performance criteria into existing methodology warrant attention.