Week 4 Tuto
Week 4 Tuto
Week 4 Tuto
Example 1
Since no machine idle time is allowed, the number of machine is 4. In this case worker will have idle time.
In contrast, if machine idle time is allowed, then n = 5. In this case the worker will have no idle time.
Example 2
The CNC grinding section has a large number of machines devoted to grinding shafts for the automotive
industry. The grinding machine cycle takes 3.6 min. At the end of this cycle an operator must be present to
unload and load parts, which takes 40 sec. (ai) Determine how many grinding machines the worker can
service if it takes 20 sec to walk between the machines and no machine idle time is allowed, (aii) if no
worker idle time is allowed?. (b) For (ai), how many seconds during the work cycle is the worker idle? (c)
What is the hourly production rate of this machine cluster?
Example 3
In a machine cluster, the appropriate number of production machines to assign to the worker is to be
determined. Let n = the number of machines. Each production machine is identical and has an automatic
processing time Tm = 4.0 min. The servicing time Ts = 12 sec for each machine. The full cycle time for
each machine in the cell is Tc = Ts + Tm. The repositioning time for the worker is given by Tr = 5 + 3n,
where Tr is in sec. Tr increases with n because the distance between machines increases with more
machines. (a) Determine the maximum number of machines in the cell if no machine idle time is allowed.
For your answer, compute (b) the cycle time and (c) the worker idle time expressed as a percent of the cycle
time?
Example 4
An industrial robot will service n production machines in a machine cluster. Each production machine is
identical and has an automatic processing time Tm = 130 sec. The robot servicing and repositioning time for
each machine is given by the equation (Ts + Tr ) = 15 + 4n, where Ts is the servicing time (sec), Tr is the
repositioning time (sec), and n = number of machines that the robot services. (Ts + Tr ) increases with n
because more time is needed to reposition the robot arm as n increases. The full cycle time for each machine
in the cell is Tc = Ts + Tm. (a) Determine the maximum number of machines in the cell such that machines
are not kept waiting. For your answer, (b) what is the machine cycle time, and (c) what is the robot idle time
expressed as a percent of the cycle time Tc?