KNOWLEDGE BASED MATERIAL HANDLING SYSTEM SELECTION IN FLEXIBLE MANUFACTURING

The increasing global competition has convinced the manufacturing enterprises to adopt intelligent manufacturing systems such as Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMSs) to respond to producing a variety of products in low quantities, low costs, high quality and at shorter lead times. Despite these benefits the potentials of Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) have not been fully realised due to their incorrect design, selection and subsequent use for particular situation. This paper presents a Knowledge based methodology for the design of a material handling system (MHS) for transporting parts between machines within an FMS and loading /unloading stations. The Knowledge Based Material Handling System Design (KBMHSD) is one of the modules of Knowledge Based Flexible Manufacturing System Design (KBFMSD) which is able to design a complete FMS. The KBMHSD makes use of a hybrid technique combining Knowledge Base (KB) and analytical approaches. The KB assists in the ‘decision making to select a suitable MHS while the analytical approach helps in calculating the design factors for the selected MHS. The KBMHSD is developed in AM: an expert system shell. An illustrated example is given to demonstrate the application of the system