ISAT 331

Module 3: GROUP TECHNOLOGY

AND
PROCESS PLANNING

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 GROUP TECHNOLOGY –
[Chapter 5 of Bedworth]

 Introduction of GT
 Development of Part Families
 Coding and Classification-basis for GT
» coding schemes
» examples of coding systems
 Cellular Manufacturing
 Economic Considerations - production
planning, tool analysis.
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 Definition of GT

 GT is an engineering and manufacturing

philosophy that groups parts together
based on their similarities in order to
achieve economies of scale in a small-
scale environment.
» economies of scale is associated with
large-scale production
» economies of scope is also realized

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 Product Variety vs Production Quantity
Har
d MH automated
Changeover (set up)Time
Job Shop
Product Variety

Mid Variety
Mid Production
(Most Difficult)

Mass Production
Sof
t 100 10,000 1M
Low Production Quantity Hig
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Types of Production Plant (facilities) and Layout
• Fixed Position
Har (Large)
• Process • Process (Batch)
d
• Cellular (GT families)
• FMS (GT families- automated
Job Shop MH)
Product Variety

l i t y
bi
Mid Variety • Product (Flow line)
i x
Ef l e
fic Production
F
Mid • Process (Quantity)
i en
(Apply
cy GT)
Mass Production
Sof
t
100 10,000 1M
Low Production Quantity Hig
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 Process Layout – typical of most
job shops

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 GT layout

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 WIP Distribution – Machined
Part Fabrication

5% Moving and Waiting - 95%

Cutting Position, loading,

< 30% gauging, idle, etc.
70 %

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 Characteristics of Job Shops -
(operations scheduling)
 low-volume production, lot sizes small
 machining centers organized by
manufacturing function
 high labor content in product costs
 general-purpose machinery
 significant changeover time
 little automation of material handling
 large variety of products

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 Need for GT

 need to improve productivity in a job

shop or batch production.
 approx. 75% of all manufactured parts
in the US are made on a small lot basis.
 need for design retrieval and cell mfg.
 grouping similar parts should improve
design and manufacturing efforts -
HOW?? - (design, mfg., and tool engineers)
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 Importance of GT to
CAD/CAM Integration

 GT facilitates structuring and archiving

of product data e.g. design and
manufacturing attributes.
 provides common language for users.
 facilitates integration of different part-
related information.
 GT is key to CAPP-computer aided
process planning.
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 GT Classification
based on

Grouping into Part Families Successful grouping

is key to GT
based on Implementation.
Attributes
based on

Geometric Characteristics Production Process Characteristics

Sequence NO. of Operations

SIZE SHAPE Type of Operation
determined by
Process
Holding Tooling Process
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Method Type Condition
12
 Design Attributes
Grouping parts into families is based on design and/or manufacturing
attributes (features)

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 Manufacturing Attributes

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 Design and Manufacturing Attributes

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 Grouping Methods –
[ Bedworth Figs. 5.3 and 5.4]

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 Methods for Developing Part
Families

 Three Basic General Methods

 (A) Manual Visual Search
– low reliability, not used in formal GT application
– different knowledge of processes result in
different groupings
– differences in identification of important
attributes
– groupings differ ‘cause different tool/machine
combination can be used in fabricating a part.

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 Part Families Development
contd.

 (B) Production Flow Analysis (PFA)

– analyzes sequence of operation for part
fabrication (Route Sheet- show transparency).
– parts that go through similar operations are
grouped together
– machines used for the operations are also
grouped together
– mach./component chart is formed and sorted -
clustering techniques are often used
– depends on accurate routing sheets.

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 Part Families Dev’t - Fig 5.5

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 Part Families Dev’t contd.

 (C) Classification and Coding

– coding involves the assignment of
representative symbols to a part
– symbols relate to different part attributes
– coding system is unique to a company
– expensive but payback is high because it forms
basis for design info. retrieval & cell production
– for robustness, design and mfg. attributes are
coded - E.G. shape, material, size; and
tolerances, processes, tool requirement, etc.

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 Classification and Coding
contd.

 There are many coding systems for GT

application - no single system is
universally accepted
 3 basic types of systems are:
» hierarchical (monocode)
» attribute (polycode, a chain code, discrete
code or fixed-digit code)
» hybrid (mixed)

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 Hierarchical Code

 characters in a code are dependent on

the meaning of previous characters
 characters “amplify” the information of
the previous character
 adequate for capturing design specific
information (shape, material, size, etc.)
 not robust enough for analyzing
process-related information.
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 Example-Hierarchical
(Bedworth fig. 5.6)

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 Attribute Code
 Characters are independent of others
in the code
 each part attribute is assigned a specific
position in the code
 preferred by manufacturing - easy to
identify parts that require similar
processes
 disadvantage - code could be very long.

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 Example - Attribute Code
(fig. 5.7)

How might one use attribute code for

retrieving part families
that require identical processing?

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 Hybrid Code

 combines the benefits of an attribute

code (ease of identifying specific part
features) and the need for a compact
code (data base space and
management)

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 Selecting a Coding System -
Factors to Consider

 > 100 coding systems to choose from

 A) Objective - user needs (engineering,
manufacturing or both)
» Engineering Objectives - retrieval, part
information, mfg capability and producibility
analysis.
» Mfg. Objectives - info. for part families,
process plan retrieval, machine groupings.

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 Selecting Coding System
contd.

 B) Robustness - able to handle current

and future parts.
 C) Expandability - ease of expansion.
 D) Differentiation - balance both
similarities and differences in parts.
 E) Automation - ascertain degree of
automation of coding, data base
retrieval and analysis functions.
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 Selecting Coding System
contd.

 F) Efficiency - number of digits

required to code a part.
 D) Cost - initial, maintenance and
modification costs.
 H) Simplicity - ease of use.

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 DCLASS Coding System

 is an 8-digits system that is partitioned

into 5 code segments
BASIC SHAPE Form Size Precision Materials
B 1 1 2 3 4 A 1

 based on some basic premises (5 total)

» completely characterize parts on the basis
of: 1. basic shape 2. features 3. size
4. precision and 5. material type, form,
and condition.

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 DCLASS Code - fig. 5.8

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 DCLASS - fig. 5.14

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 DCLASS - fig. 5.15

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 DCLASS - fig. 5.16

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 DCLASS - Tables 5.3, 5.4, and
5.5

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 Coding Systems contd.

 MICLASS Coding System:

» MICLASS = Metal Institute Classification
System
» consists of two major sections (segments)
» first segment is mandatory-total of 12 digits
» first 4 digits describe main shape and their
elements
» second 4 digits describe dimensions ...

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 MICLASS contd. - fig. 5.17

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 MICLASS contd.

 second segment is optional

 can contain up to 18 characters;
reserved for company specific info.
 typical info include: vendors, lot sizes,
costs, producibility tips
 MICLASS uses an interactive computer
program for coding and classifying info.
in data base - see fig. 5.19.
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 Other Coding Systems
-----figs. 5.10 and 5.12
Examples:
1. CODE eight-digit hybrid code
2. OPITZ nine-digit hybrid code

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 Clustering Techniques: Single-
Linkage Clustering Algorithm (SLCA)

 algorithm utilizes similarity coefficient to group

parts requiring similar process
 similarity coefficient is calculated for each pair
of machines to ascertain:
» how alike the 2 machines are based on number of
parts that “visit” both machines and
» number of parts that “visit” each machine only
(and doesn’t visit the second machine).

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 SLCA - Similarity Coeff.

 Sij = a/(a+b+c)
» where,
» s = similarity coefficient between mach i
and j
» a = # of parts common to both machines
» b = # of parts that visit only machine i
» c = # of parts that visit only machine j
 Determine similarity coefficient between
machines A and D - fig. 5.21.
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 SLCA contd. (fig. 5.21)

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 SLCA Steps

 calculate pair-wise similarity coefficient

for each machine - coefficients will form
a symmetric matrix
 identify largest coefficient. - the
associated machines form initial cluster
 identify largest remaining coefficient -
associated machines are also grouped

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 SLCA contd.

 repeat steps 2 and 3 above until all

machines are clustered into one group -
or until a threshold is reached.
» threshold level is used to control number of
clusters formed.
 see fig. 5.23, Table 5.6 and fig. 5.24

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 Fig 5.23 and Table 5.6

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 SLCA dendrogram

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 Advantages/Disadvantages
of SLCA
 An Advantage of SLCA is that it provides a
powerful systematic way of grouping
machines for GT mfg.
 Disadvantages:
» no clear direction on how to achieve ideal
machine-groups. To decide, one need info. on a)
no. of inter-group/intra-group movements b)
machine utilization c) planning and control and d)
bottleneck machines.
» Chaining can occur – page 209 of Bedworth.
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 Enhancements to SLCA

 Anderberg’s Algorithm:
» Sij = 2a/(2a + b + c)
» this gives more weight to similar machines
and thus limits or controls Chaining.

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 Average - Linkage Clustering
Algorithm (ALCA)

 Sij= sij / (Ni x Nj)

» where:
» sij = sum of similarity coefficient between all
machines of the two groups
» Ni, Nj is no. of machines in group i and j,
respectively.
 Example: machines A and B belong to group i and
machines C, D, and E to group j; Calculate SAB, CDE

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 ALCA Steps

 calculate pair-wise similarity coefficient

for all machines
 locate largest coefficient - the 2
machines form initial cluster
 calculate average similarity coefficient
between new cell and remaining cells -
revise similarity matrix
 repeat steps 2 and 3 above. Examples..

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 ALCA - fig. 5.25

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 Facility Design with GT

 facility layout is critical to many

manufacturing performance measures
 3 major types of machine (process)
layout - line, functional, group/cell layout
» Discuss in terms of: work balancing,
operational costs, material handling, setup,
throughput, production control - capacity
planning, job scheduling.

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 GT and Mfg Cells
 used to show logical implementation
steps for GT
 benefits include:
» reduction in number of perishable tools
» lower setup times
» lower tooling costs - tools can be “kited”
» improvement in efficiency of new
equipment.

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 Economic Modeling of GT

 components of product mfg cost

» direct material
» direct labor
» overhead (materials and labor)
 involves minimization of total production
costs over a planning horizon (ISAT
330)
» subject to constraints of labor, equipment,
demand, etc.
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 Group Tooling Economic
Analysis

 there is a marked improvement in group

tooling cost (total and unit cost) over
conventional tooling cost.
 see fig. 5.28.

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 Tooling Costs fig. 5.28

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 Typical Savings Realized from
Successful GT program-p. 221

 Benefits to Design function

 Benefits to mfg
 benefits to Management
 see advantages and disadvantages on
pages 226 – 227 of Bedworth.
» under utilization of some machines in a
group - plant-wide benefit vs. sub-
optimization of individual machines.

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 Types of Layout - fig. 5.20

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