The Impact of Buffer Allocation in Assembly-Line Manufacturing Systems on the Effectiveness of Production Processes

摘要

The allocation of buffers in an assembly-line manufacturing system plays an important role in the effectiveness and the work-in-progress of production processes. In this paper, the impact of buffer allocation on the throughput and average product lifespan is analysed. The behaviour of the system is investigated using the computer-simulation method and the Tecnomatix Plant Simulation software tool. The different variants of an assembly-line manufacturing system are considered (varied allocation of buffers and operation times). For the assembly-line manufacturing system, simulation experiments are prepared (varied allocation of buffer capacities and processing times). The input values of the simulation experiments, along with the different allocations of buffer capacities, are taken into account. The output values are the manufacturing system's throughput, along with the average lifespan of the products, which indicate the work-in-progress.