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Reconfigurable manufacturing system


A reconfigurable manufacturing system (RMS) is one designed at the outset for rapid change in its structure, as well as its hardware and software components, in order to quickly adjust its production capacity and functionality within a part family in response to sudden market changes or intrinsic system change. A schematic diagram of a RMS is shown below (Artist Rod Hill).


The Reconfigurable Manufacturing System (RMS) as well as one of its components – the Reconfigurable Machine Tool (RMT) were invented in 1999 in the Engineering Research Center for Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems (ERC/RMS) at the University of Michigan College of Engineering. The RMS goal is summarized by the statement – Exactly the capacity and functionality needed, exactly when needed.

Ideal Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems possess six core RMS characteristics: Modularity, Integrability, Customized flexibility, Scalability, Convertibility, and Diagnosability. A typical RMS will have several of these characteristics, though not necessarily all. When possessing these characteristics, RMS increases the speed of responsiveness of manufacturing systems to unpredicted events, such as sudden market demand changes or unexpected machine failures.. The RMS facilitates a quick production launch of new products, and allows for adjustment of production quantities that might unexpectedly vary. The ideal reconfigurable system provides exactly the functionality and production capacity needed, and can be economically adjusted exactly when needed. These systems are designed and operated according to Koren’s RMS Principles.

The components of RMS are CNC machines, Reconfigurable Machine Tools, Reconfigurable Inspection Machines and material transport systems (such as gantries and conveyors) that connect the machines to form the system. Different arrangements and configurations of these machines will affect the system's productivity. A collection of mathematical tools, which are defined as the RMS Science Base, may be utilized to maximize system productivity with the smallest possible number of machines.

Globalization has created a new landscape for industry, one of fierce competition, short windows of market opportunity, and frequent changes in product demand. This change presents both a threat and an opportunity. To capitalize on the opportunity, industry needs to possess manufacturing systems that can produce a wide range of products within a product family. That range must meet the requirements of multiple countries and various cultures, not just one regional market. A design for the right mix of products must be coupled with the technical capabilities that allow for quick changeover of product mix and quantities that might vary dramatically, even on a monthly basis. The Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems, or simply RMS, has these capabilities.

Ideal Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems possess six core characteristics: Modularity, Integrability, Customized flexibility, Scalability, Convertibility, and Diagnosability. These characteristics, which were introduced by professor Yoram Koren in 1995, apply to the design of whole manufacturing systems, as well as to some of its components – reconfigurable machines, their controllers, and also to the system control software.


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