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UNIT 3:

ANALYSIS OF AUTOMATED FLOW LINE & LINE BALANCING

General Terminology & Analysis:

There are two problem areas in analysis of automated flow lines which must be addressed:
1. Process Technology
2. Systems Technology
Process Technology refers to the body of knowledge about the theory & principles of the
particular manufacturing process used on the production line. E.g. in the manufacturing
process, process technology includes the metallurgy & machinability of the work material,
the correct applications of the cutting tools, chip control, economics of machining, machine
tools alterations & a host of other problems. Many problems encountered in machining can
be overcome by application of good machining principles. In each process, a technology is
developed by many years of research & practice.

Terminology & Analysis of transfer lines with no Internal storage:

There are a few assumptions that we will have to make about the operation of the Transfer
line & rotary indexing machines:
1. The workstations perform operations such as machining & not assembly.
2. Processing times at each station are constant though they may not be equal.
3. There is synchronous transfer of parts.
4. No internal storage of buffers.
In the operation of an automated production line, parts are introduced into the first
workstation & are processed and transported at regular intervals to the succeeding stations.
This interval defines the ideal cycle time, Tc of the production line. Tc is the processing
time for the slowest station of the line plus the transfer time; i.e. :

Tc = max (Tsi) + Tr ---------------- (1)

Tc = ideal cycle on the line (min)

Tsi = processing time at station (min)
Tr = repositioning time, called the transfer time (min)

In equation 1, we use the max (Tsi) because the longest service time establishes the pace of
the production line. The remaining stations with smaller service times will have to wait for
the slowest station. The other stations will be idle.

In the operation of a transfer line, random breakdowns & planned stoppages cause
downtime on the line.

Common reasons for downtime on an Automated Production line:

1. Tool failures at workstations.
2. Tool adjustments at workstations
3. Scheduled tool charges
4. Limit switch or other electrical malfunctions.

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5. Mechanical failure of a workstation.

6. Mechanical failure of a transfer line.
7. Stock outs of starting work parts.
8. Insufficient space for completed parts.
9. Preventive maintenance on the line worker breaks.

The frequency of the breakdowns & line stoppages can be measured even though they occur
randomly when the line stops, it is down for a certain average time for each downtime
occurrence. These downtime occurrences cause the actual average production cycle time of
the line to be longer than the ideal cycle time.

The actual average production time Tp:

Tp = Tc + FTd ------------------------ 2
F = downtime frequency, line stops / cycle
Td = downtime per line stop in minutes
The downtime Td includes the time for the repair crew to swing back into action, diagnose
the cause of failure, fix it & restart the drive.

FTd = downtime averaged on a per cycle basis

Production can be computed as a reciprocal of Tp

Rp = 1 ----------------------------- 3
Tp
Where, Rp = actual average production rate (pc / min)
Tp = the actual average production time
The ideal production rate is given by

Rc = 1 ------------------------------ 4
Tc
Where Rc = ideal production rate (pc / min)

Production rates must be expressed on an hourly basis on automated production lines.

The machine tool builder uses the ideal production rate, Rc, in the proposal for the
automated transfer line & calls it as the production rate at 100% efficiency because of
downtime. The machine tool builder may ignore the effect of downtime on production rate
but it should be stated that the amount of downtime experienced on the line is the
responsibility of the company using the production line.
Line efficiency refers to the proportion of uptime on the line & is a measure of reliability
more than efficiency.
Line efficiency can be calculated as follows:

E = Tc = Tc + FTd ----------------- 5
Tp Tc

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Where E = the proportion of uptime on the production line.

An alternative measure of the performance is the proportion of downtime on the line which
is given by:

D = FTd = FTd + FTd ----------------- 6

Tp Tc
Where D = proportion of downtime on the line

E + D = 1.0

An important economic measure of the performance of an automated production line is the

cost of the unit produced. The cost of 1 piece includes the cost of the starting blank that is to
processed, the cost of time on the production line & the cost of the tool consumed. The cost
per unit can be expressed as the sum of three factors:

Cpc = Cm + CoTp + Ct ------------------------ 7

Where Cpc = cost per piece (Rs / pc)
Cm = cost per minute to operate the time (Rs / min)
Tp = average production time per piece (min / pc)
Ct = cost of tooling per piece (Rs / pc)
Co = the allocation of capital cost of the equipment over the service life, labour to
operate the line, applicable overheads, maintenance, & other relevant costs all reduced to
cost per min.

Problem on Transfer line performance:

A 30 station Transfer line is being proposed to machine a certain component currently

produced by conventional methods. The proposal received from the machine tool builder
states that the line will operate at a production rate of 100 pc / hr at 100% efficiency. From a
similar transfer line it is estimated that breakdowns of all types will occur at a frequency of
F = 0.20 breakdowns per cycle & that the average downtime per line stop will be 8.0
minutes. The starting blank that is machined on the line costs Rs. 5.00 per part. The line
operates at a cost for 100 parts each & the average cost per tool = Rs. 20 per cutting edge.
Compute the following:
1. Production rate
2. Line efficiency
3. Cost per unit piece produced on the line

Solution:

1. At 100% efficiency, the line produces 100 pc/hr. The reciprocal gives the unit time
or ideal cycle time per piece.

Tc = 1 = 0.010hr / pc = 0.6 mins

100

The average production time per piece is given by:

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Tp = Tc + FTd
= 0.60 + 0.20 (8.0)
= 0.60 + 1.60
= 2.2 mins / piece
Rp = 1 / 2.2m = 0.45 pc / min = 27 pc / hr

Efficiency is the ratio of the ideal cycle time to actual production time

E = 0.6 / 2.2
= 27 %

Tooling cost per piece

Ct = (30 tools) (Rs 20 / tool)

100 parts
= Rs. 6 / piece

The hourly ratio of Rs 100 / hr to operate the line is equivalent to Rs. 1.66 / min.

Cpc = 5 + 1.66 (2.2) + 6

= 5 + 3.65 + 6
= Rs 14.65 / piece

Upper Bound Approach:

The upper bound approach provides an upper limit on the frequency on the line stops per
cycle. In this approach we assume that the part remains on the line for further processing. It
is possible that there will be more than one line stop associated with a given part during its
sequence of processing operations. Let
Pr = probability or frequency of a failure at station i where i = 1, 2,………. η
Station i where i = 1, 2, ……………. η

Since a part is not removed from the line when a station jam occurs it is possible that the
part will be associated with a station breakdown at every station. The expected number of
lines stops per part passing through the line is obtained by summing the frequencies Pi over
the n stations. Since each of the n stations is processing a part of each cycle, then the
expected frequency of line stops per cycle is equal to the expected frequency of line stops
per part i.e.
η
F = ∑ Pi ----------------------------- 8
i=1
where F = expected frequency of line stops per cycle
Pi = frequency of station break down per cycle, causing a line stop
η = number of workstations on the line
If all the Pi are assumed equal, which is unlikely but useful for computation purposes, then

F = η.p where all the Pi are equal ---------------- 9

p = p = ………….. p = p
1 2 η