Group Technology

Group
technology is a manufacturing
technique and philosophy to increase
production efficiency by exploiting the
underlying sameness of component
shape, dimensions, process route, etc.
A manufacturing philosophy in which
similar parts are identified and grouped
together to take advantage of their
similarities in design and production

Medium size production

Disadvantages of batch production:
Downtime for changeovers
High inventory carrying costs

GT minimizes these disadvantages

by recognizing that although the
parts are different, there are groups
of parts that possess similarities.

Applications
Identify and reuse similar process
plans
Identify and reuse similar CNC
programs
Identify the equipment that may be
best used in a particular machine
cell
Identify and eliminate redundant
inventory

Cellular Manufacturing
GT exploits the part similarities by utilizing
similar processes and tooling to produce them.
Machines are grouped into cells, each cell
specializing in the production of a part family
called cellular manufacturing.
Cellular manufacturing can be implemented by
manual
or
automated
methods.
When
automated, the term flexible manufacturing
system is often applied

Problems in Implementing GT
Identifying the part families
Reviewing all of the parts made in the plant and
grouping them into part families is a substantial
task

Rearranging production machines into GT

cells
It is time-consuming and costly to physically
rearrange the machines into cells, and the
machines are not producing during the
changeover

Benefits
Facilitates formation of part families and machine
cells
Quick retrieval of designs, drawings, & process
plans
Reduces design duplication
Provides reliable workpiece statistics
Facilitates accurate estimation of machine tool
requirements and logical machine loadings
Permits rationalization of tooling setups, reduces
setup time, and reduces production throughput
time

Benefits
Allows rationalization and
improvement in tool design
Aids production planning and
scheduling procedures
Improves cost estimation and
facilitates cost accounting
procedures
Provides for better machine tool
utilization and better use of tools,
fixtures, & people
Facilitates NC part programming.

GT affects most every operating and staff function. It is

more than merely a technique, but a total
Manufacturing philosophy.
DATA
PROCESSING

DESIGN
ENGINEERING

SALES

MAINTENANCE

INVENTORY

TOOL
ENGINEERING

PLANNING

ESTIMATING

PURCHASING

INDUSTRIAL
RELATIONS

ASSEMBLY

QUALITY
CONTROL

MANAGEMENT
MFG.
ENGINEERING

R&D
COST
ACCOUNTING

GT

SHIPPING &
RECEIVING

Traditional Layout

Cellular Manufacturing

Each cell specializes in producing

one or a limited number of part

 Two parts that are identical in shape

and size but quite different in
manufacturing:
(a) 1,000,000 units/yr, tolerance =
0.010 inch, 1015 CRsteel, nickel plate;
(b) 100/yr, tolerance = 0.001 inch, 18-8
stainless steel

Similar
Part

machined from
cylindrical
stock by turning
some parts require
drilling and/or milling

Three techniques to identify part families

1. Visual inspection
May use photos or part prints
Utilizes subjective judgment
2. Production flow analysis
Uses information contained on the
route sheet
(therefore only mfg. Info)
Parts grouped by required processing
3. Classification and coding
Codes geometry/design and mfg.
Codes are alphanumeric strings
Easier to use for other analyses

How to Identify Groups

Similar Design Attributes

Size of parts
Geometric shape of parts
Materials
Technique: Parts Classification & Coding

Similar Manufacturing Attributes

Common processing steps (routings)
Common tools and fixtures
Technique: Production Flow Analysis

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15

Parts Classification & Coding

Must be customized for a given company or industry
Design retrieval: access to a part that already exists
Automated process planning: process plans for similar
code parts
Machine cell design: composite part concept
Methods:
(Human) Visual Inspection
Least sophisticated
Least accurate (repeatable)
Least expensive

(Computer) Feature Recognition

Most expensive to develop
Most accurate (repeatable)

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16

Typical PC&C Attributes

Part Design
Attributes:
Basic external
shape
Basic internal shape
Major dimensions
Length/diameter
ratio
Minor dimensions
Material type
Tolerances
Surface finish
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Part Mfg Attributes:

Major process
Major dimension
Length/diameter
ratio
Operation sequence
Surface finish
Machine tool
Production time
Batch size
Annual production
17

PC&C Code Types

Three PC&C Code Types:
Hierarchical (monocode)
Succeeding position code values depend on
the preceding code values

Chain (polycode)
Individual code values do not depend on the
other code positions
Robust (least affected by minor differences)
Least compact for same level of detail (30+
digits)

Hybrid
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Mixture of hierarchical and chain types

18

GT PC&C Code Examples

Vuosa-Praha
4 digits (monocode)

Opitz
Basic - 5 digits (monocode)
Enhanced - 9 digits (hybrid)

DCLASS
8 digits (monocode)

MICLASS
12 digits (polycode)

KK-3
21 digits (hybrid)
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Opitz System

Example

15100

Assignment

Solution

Production Flow Analysis

Method for identifying part families
and associated machine groupings
based on production route sheets
rather than part design data

PFA Logic
Advantages of using route sheet data
Parts with different geometries may
nevertheless require the same or similar
processing
Parts with nearly the same geometries
may nevertheless require different
processing

PFA Steps
Data collection
operation sequence and machine routing for each
part(number)

Sortation of process routings

parts with same sequences and routings are arranged into
packs

PFA chart
each pack is displayed on a PFA chart
Also called a part-machine incidence matrix

Cluster analysis
purpose is to collect packs with similar routings into groups
Each machine group = a machine cell

Binary Ordering
Interpret rows and columns as binary
numbers
Sort rows w.r.t. decreasing binary
numbers
Sort columns w.r.t. decreasing binary
numbers

Row
value
s

16

16+4
= 20

32+8
+2+1
= 43

16+8
+4+1
= 29

32+2
+1 =
35

4+2 =
6

Sorting Row

Sorting Column
1

16

20

25

28

Colum 24
n
Values

Cell design

Inference
Group 1:
parts {6, 5, 1}, machines {B, D}

Group 2:
parts { 3, 4, 2}, machines {C, A, E}

There are, in principle 3 possibilities:

these parts produced in both cells, i.e. part 6 is mainly
produced in cell 1 but for operation on machine C it
has to be transported to cell 2
machines B, C, and E have to be duplicated, so that all
parts can be produced within one cell
some parts that do not fit at all could also be given to
subcontractors

Composite part concept

A composite part for a given family is a
hypothetical part that includes all of the design
and manufacturing attributes of the family
In general, an individual part in the family will have
some of the features of the family, but not all of them.
A production cell for the part family would consist of
those machines required to make the composite part.
Such a cell would be able to produce any family
member, by omitting operations corresponding to
features not possessed by that part

Composite part concept

Facilities in the cell

Design feature Corresponding operation

1.External cylinder Turning
2.Face of cylinder Facing
3.Cylindrical step Turning
4.Smooth surface External cylindrical grinding
5.Axial hole Drilling
6.Counter bore Counterboring
7.Internal threadsTapping