A computer aided design system for product oriented manufacturing systems reconfiguration

Abstract

Product Oriented Manufacturing Systems (POMS) are systems designed for variable product demand markets, and dynamically reconfigured for the manufacture of a single type of product or a family of similar products at a time. POMS systems can take several forms and result from exploring the use of flexible resources, a variety of new design philosophies, technologies and approaches to manufacture, including Cellular, Lean, Agile, Quick Response and Fit Manufacturing. In this paper a computer aided design system for the design and reconfiguration of POMS is addressed. A characterization and description of the structure and components of the design system, including a database, a user interface and a knowledge base and the description of some important data sets, are presented.