Performance Evaluation of Reconfiguration Policy in Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems including Multi-Spindle Machines: An Assessment by Simulation

Abstract

Reconfigurable manufacturing systems (RMSs) are extensively studied and employed to address demand uncertainties. RMS machines are designed to be modular and adaptable to changing requirements. A recent innovation is the introduction of multi-spindle reconfigurable machines (MRMTs). This study evaluates the impact of MRMTs’ introduction into an RMS, considering factors such as the number of MRMT machines and reconfiguration policies. A simulation model incorporating failures, process time variability, and part inter-arrival supports the analysis. The numerical results aid decision makers in determining the optimal RMS configuration with MRMTs. The simulation outcomes indicate that a balanced number of multi-spindle machines can significantly enhance performance compared with an unbalanced distribution.

Keywords

• reconfigurable manufacturing systems
• reconfiguration machines
• modularity
• simulation