The Behaviour of Machining-Assembly Automatic Transfer Line Systems Adapting a Matching Method (Modeling and Analysis of Effects of Machining Accuracy)

Abstract

In a machining-assembly automatic transfer line system which mass-produces machine elements such as bearings, a "matching method" must be considered to produce high-quality elements efficiently. This paper deals with modeling of material flow in the system where the assembly stage considers "matching", and analyzes the effects of the machining accuracy of the parts of elements produced in the machining stages and the buffer capacity on the line efficiency. From the numerical results, it is presented that the buffer storage for the matching part which is selected in the assembly stage is more useful for improving the line efficiency than the buffer storage for the part which selects the matching part, and that the difference in the accuracy distribution of the parts between machining stages has an important effect on line efficiency.