Toward a New Era in U.S. Manufacturing The Need for a National Vision (1986) / Chapter Skim
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2 The Role of Advanced Technology in Future Manufacturing
2 The Role of Advanced Technology in Future Manufacturing
Pages 31-48
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From page 31... ...
The selection will depend on factors such as the capabilities of the technology, the type and number of products being manufactured, the relative costs of production, the abilities of competitors, and the long-term objectives of the company. Advances in flexible manufacturing systems (FMS)
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From page 32... ...
Material handling systems and automated assembly systems for instance. mav he in stalled to reduce direct labor inputs, but they also can result in lower inventory costs, a streamlined production process, and new part designs.
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From page 33... ...
Managerial and organizational changes are necessary conditions for improved manufacturing competitiveness-new technologies can increase those benefits exponentially. RESPONSIVENESS A manufacturer's response to change varies with specific circumstances, such as the structure of the industry, the particular product line, the market in which the product is sold, and the firm's competitive emphasis.
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From page 34... ...
, such a system permits parts to be designed and produced rapidly and effectively with minimum changes in tooling, numerical control programs, and material requirements because new parts will resemble current parts as much as possible. Of course, designing for producibility is a crucial goal regardless of the technology used, but a CAD system can improve the designer's ability to simplify new and existing part designs, improving manufacturability and reducing the need for complex multiaxis machining.)
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From page 35... ...
More sophisticated FMSs might combine a number of machining centers with material handling systems and automatic tool and part changers and integrate the required CAD, GT, material, tooling, and NC program data. In the future, automated assembly operations will be included in the FMS installation, eliminating much of the required human intervention, but this development depends on progress in a number of technological areas.
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From page 36... ...
CIM systems will use interactive data bases and hierarchical control systems coupled to advanced CAD systems, modeling and simulation systems, computer-aided engineering (CAE) systems, production process planning systems, flexible manufacturing systems and/or hard automation processes, material handling systems, and automated inspection/quality assurance systems.
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From page 37... ...
This type of flexibility is the cornerstone of flexible automation technologies that allow optimal matching of materials to product applications, the ability to use various materials, and the ability to produce a variety of product designs. · Program flexibility allows process path modifications, adaptive control and self-correction, unattended operations, and back-up capabilities to maintain production even when some part
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From page 38... ...
By reducing some of these costs through advanced manufacturing technologies, more producible part designs, streamlined organization, better functional cooperation, just-in-time inventory control systems, material requirement planning, and other mechanisms, future manufacturers have the opportunity to reduce the need for many of the traditional cost-flexibility compromises. Cost-flexibility trade-offs will always exist, however, and the advantages of specific technologies will vary tremendously among industries and product lines.
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From page 39... ...
As an extreme example, a machine shop using manual machine tools and expert craftsmen may be more flexible in producing a broad range of parts and may be better able to improvise to produce prototypes than a more modern machine shop using NC machine tools. The manual shop, however, is likely to be less cost effective and slower, have more scrap and rework, and, most importantly, be ill prepared to take advantage of other computer-based technologies that could improve control over and the effectiveness of the total production process.
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From page 40... ...
Significant planning is required to achieve optimum flexibility; ad hoc programs and investments will be counterproductive. Although cost-flexibility compromises will continue to apply, the basic flexibility provided by new technology will be much greater than with current NC machining and turning centers or FMS installations.
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From page 41... ...
The manufacturer may need to compromise with the purchaser to ease the specifications for producibility or increase the price to compensate for a less producible design; subcontract production of the part to a firm with the necessary production capabilities; or add new capabilities to his own production facilities. Even a sophisticated FMS will function effectively only within relatively narrow ranges of material inputs, processing capabilities, and product dimensions.
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From page 42... ...
COST AND QUALITY Advanced manufacturing technologies will give managers new tools to help them minimize use of total resources and thereby reduce product life cycle costs. Whether competitive strategy emphasizes low price or product differentiation, price competition in the future is likely to be severe.
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From page 43... ...
These factors will require manufacturers with offshore facilities to use significant forward planning to align production with demand. Advanced technologies will allow manufacturers to handle data in ways that should help to ameliorate the disadvantages of offshore operations, but these gains may not be sufficient to offset the transportation costs, delays, and relative isolation entailed by distant production facilities.3 For many manufacturers, advanced technology can be expected to allow more rapid reduction of direct labor inputs, although again, labor savings may not be the major motivation for the investments.
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From page 44... ...
Advanced material handling systems should have a major effect on the costs of moving and storing materials. New materials such as highstrength resins, composites, and ceramics will create new options in product development, providing significant improvements in performance while reducing material requirements (see Appendix A)
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From page 45... ...
Since information for the entire organization will be available almost concurrently regardless of plant site, the criteria for plant locations will emphasize costs, available process technology, responsiveness, quality, and optimal resource use. Some of the considerations involved in decisions to move plants offshore have been discussed; these considerations may lead to more decisions to keep manufacturing capacity onshore.
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From page 46... ...
The producibility feedback and modeling capabilities of the CAD system will reduce product development costs, which will allow firms to either reduce prices or do more product development. The monitoring and self-correcting mechanisms embedded in the machine tools will reduce scrap and rework costs.
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From page 47... ...
has had much success in simplifying part designs, to the extent that the company is Reemphasizing the use of multiaxis machining centers in FMSs because much of the complexity in manufacturing components has been eliminated through simpler designs. See Giesen, Lauri, 1986, Deere Abandoning Focus on Flexible Manufacturing Systems, American Metal Market/Metalworking News (March 24)
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From page 48... ...
The need to move facilities continually as wages inevitably rise in developing countries, the increased viability of automating domestic facilities as an alternative to siting plants in low-wage countries, and the pursuit of long-term production strategies have underscored the costs of a low-wage strategy and other developments have undermined the benefits. See Ohmae, Kenichi, 1985, Triad Power: The Coming Shape of Global Competition, New York: The Free Press.
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