Robot Applications for Batch Manufacturing and Job Shops

Abstract

Industrial production operations may be classified into four basic types (Ref. 1):

• 1. Continuous Flow Process Continuous dedicated production of large amounts of bulk product. Examples include continuous chemical process plants and oil refineries.

• 2. Mass Production of Discrete Products Dedicated production of large quantities of one product (with perhaps limited model variations). Examples include automobiles, appliances and engine blocks.

• 3. Batch Production Production of medium lot sizes of the same product. The lots may be produced once or repeated periodically. Examples include books, clothing, and certain industrial machinery.

• 4. Job Shop Production Production of low quantities, often one-of-a-kind, of specialized products. The products are often customized and technologically complex. Examples include prototypes, aircraft, machine tools and other equipment.