Quantifying the flexibility of a manufacturing system by applying the transfer function

Kosmas Alexopoulos (1) , Nikolaos Papakostas (1) , Dimitris Mourtzis (1) , Pantelis Gogos (1) , George Chryssolouris (2)

1 Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems and Automation
2 Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems and Automation

This paper discusses a method of estimating the flexibility of a manufacturing system. The approach proposed, is motivated by the dynamic behaviour analogy between a mechanical and a manufacturing system. The main hypothesis is that the flexibility of a manufacturing system can be calculated, in the same manner, as the damping factor of a mechanical system. In order for the validity of the method proposed, to be tested and discussed, a set of experiments has been designed and executed, initially, for a simple production system. An industrial production system has also been studied having used the same approach. The results prove that this method can be used for the estimation of a manufacturing system's flexibility.

Mots clés: Physical Sciences

Kosmas Alexopoulos, Nikolaos Papakostas, Dimitris Mourtzis, Pantelis Gogos, George Chryssolouris. Quantifying the flexibility of a manufacturing system by applying the transfer function. International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing, 2007, 20 (06), pp.538-547. ⟨10.1080/09511920600930046⟩. ⟨hal-00513383⟩