Digital Manufacturing Cell Design for Performance Increase

Abstract

Digital simulation tools are jointly employed for the design of an existing aircraft engine components manufacturing cell to be enhanced through automated robotic deburring. The application of 3D Motion Simulation is illustrated for layout and material handling system design. Discrete Event Simulation is applied to analyze different scenarios and improve the cell performance with regards to two key objectives: (a) optimization of the batch throughput time for the part number fabricated in the manufacturing cell; (b) utilization increase of the automated deburring station by processing additional part numbers coming from other manufacturing cells in the same production department.