Development of Flexible Manufacturing System

Abstract

Since Denso started its Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) in the mid-1970s, we have continued to develop it in order to stay competitive in the face of market fluctuations. In this paper, we present a typical new production system that was developed at the end of the 20th century. One characteristic of this system is that it has a longer life and lower facility life cycle cost than do other production systems in existence. We think this system has high potential in terms of production innovations. Since one of the most important devices for FMS is the robot, we hope this paper will be a guide for new production systems and new device development.