science

Reconfigurable manufacturing system

Reconfigurable manufacturing system is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Reconfigurable manufacturing system rather than just read about it. In short: A reconfigurable manufacturing system (RMS) is a system invented in 1998 that is designed for the outset of 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 reconfigurable machine can have its features and parts machined.

Key takeaways

Reconfigurable manufacturing system belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Reconfigurable manufacturing system to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Reconfigurable manufacturing system from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A reconfigurable manufacturing system (RMS) is a system invented in 1998 that is designed for the outset of 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 reconfigurable machine can have its features and parts machined.

History The RMS, as well as one of its components—the reconfigurable machine tool (RMT)—were invented in 1998 in the Engineering Research Center for Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems (ERC/RMS) at the University of Michigan College of Engineering. The term reconfigurability in manufacturing was likely coined by Kusiak and Lee. From 1996 to 2007, Yoram Koren received an NSF grant of $32.5 million to develop the RMS science base and its software and hardware tools. RMS technology is based on an approach that consists of key elements, the compilation of which is called the RMS science base.

System operations

The system is composed of stages: 10, 20, 30, etc. Each stage consists of identical machines, such as CNC milling machines. The system produces one product. The manufactured product moves on the horizontal conveyor. Then Gantry-10 grips the product and brings it to one of CNC-10. When CNC-10 finishes the processing, Gantry-10 moves it back to the conveyor. The conveyor moves the product to Gantry-20, which grips the product and loads it on the RMT-20, and so on. Inspection machines are placed at several stages and at the end of the manufacturing system. The product may move during its production in many production paths. In practice, there are small variations in the precision of identical machines, which create accumulated errors in the manufactured product; each path has its own "stream-of-variations" (a term coined by Y. Koren).

Characteristics

Ideal reconfigurable manufacturing systems, according to professor Yoram Koren in 1995, possess six characteristics: modularity, integrability, customized flexibility, scalability, convertibility, and diagnosability. Characteristics for its components are: reconfigurable machines, controllers, and system control software. An RMS does not necessarily have all of the characteristics. These principles are called Koren's RMS principles. Supposedly, the more of these principles applicable to a given manufacturing system, the more reconfigurable that system is. The RMS principles are: The components of RMS are CNC machines, reconfigurable 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 used to maximize system productivity with the smallest possible number of machines.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Reconfigurable manufacturing system

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Reconfigurable manufacturing system claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Reconfigurable manufacturing system before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Reconfigurable manufacturing system ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Reconfigurable manufacturing system

In research: Reconfigurable manufacturing system appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Reconfigurable manufacturing system in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Reconfigurable manufacturing system is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Manufacturing, Modular design, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Reconfigurable manufacturing system outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Reconfigurable manufacturing system in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Reconfigurable manufacturing system means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Reconfigurable manufacturing system out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Reconfigurable manufacturing system in simple terms?

Why does Reconfigurable manufacturing system matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Reconfigurable manufacturing system?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Reconfigurable manufacturing system.