Lec 1 Introduction Slides 1 20 Merged

Manufacturing Automation: Lecture Series
MANUFACTURING AUTOMATION
Presented by:
Dr. S. K. Choudhury
Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
Kanpur, India
Manufacturing Automation , S.K. Choudhury, Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Kanpur
Automation in Manufacturing
Automation can be defined as a term applied to all measures
taken which will cause a process to be carried out wholly or partly
according to a previously set program without the intervention of
human activity for its control.
MECHANIZATION
+
CONTROL TECHNOLOGY
AUTOMATION
Manufacturing Automation , S.K. Choudhury, Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Kanpur 2/116
AUTOMATION
Muscles, tendons
replaced by
Mechanization
Brain, Memory,
Nerves replaced by
Control Technique
Automation
A trend of Science and Technology which causes a

process to be carried out according to a previously set
program without the intervention of human activity for its
control
A truly automated system must have:
❑ the ability to make a decision
❑ the ability to carry out these decisions, and
❑ the ability to evaluate and correct performance
Truly Automated System
Decision
Making
Physical Evaluation
&
Action Feedback
Truly Automated System
AUTOMATION
Automation is a technology concerned with the operation of
Mechanical, Electronic and Computer-based systems to
operate and control production
This technology includes:
•Automatic Machine Tools to process parts
•Automatic assembly machines
•Industrial robots
•Automatic material handling and storage systems
•Automatic inspection systems and quality control
•Feedback control and computer process control
•Computer system for planning, data collection and decision
making to support mfg. activities
AUTOMATION
AUTOMATION BEGINS WHERE MASS
PRODUCTION LEAVES OFF.
OR
The Automation is Mass Production applied to the
point where the substitution of human labour and
human control by mechanical labour and
mechanical control is made complete or nearly
complete.
QUESTION
WILL NOT WIDESPREAD
UNEMPLOYMENT
BE THE RESULT?
ANSWER
•Elimination of human labour has been going on

for thousand of years
•The mechanization of labour has not only

released more of man’s time and energy for
other persuits, it has led to unmatched material
prosperity and increasingly better use of natural
resources.
•Greater productivity of mass production

has opened and enlarged many fields of
employment like designing, production,
maintenance, packaging, distribution,
selling, advertisement etc.
•It has also made possible the

phenomenal expansion of the material
processing industries like Metalworking,
fuel, rubber and synthetic industries.
Manufacturing - THEN
Manufacturing - NOW
Manufacturing - SOON
Benefits of Automation
• Reduction or total elimination of tedious and routine
operations like loading, unloading, assembly, inspection etc.
•Creation of new and more interesting jobs
•Increase in the productive capacity of industry
•Greater flexibility through the use of standard production
units
•Higher standard of living
Reasons for Automation

1. Increased productivity (greater output per hour of labour
input)
2. High cost of labour
3. Labour shortages
4. Trend of labour towards the service sector (insurance,
personal, legals, sales etc.)
5. Safety
6. High cost of raw material
7. Improved product quality
8. Reduced manufacturing lead time
9. Reduction of in-process inventory
10.High cost of non-automating
Automation Strategies
1. Specialization of operations – use of special purpose equipment
2. Combined Operations – reduce number of workstations
3. Simultaneous Operations – reduce total processing time
4. Integration of Operations – linking several work stations
5. Increased Flexibility – max. utilization of equipment
6. Improved material handling and storage – reduce non-productive time
7. On-line inspection – correction to the process
8. Process control and optimization – operate individual process and
equipment more efficiently.
9. Plant Operation Control – control at the plant level
10.Computer-Integrated Manufacturing – integration of factory
operations
TYPES OF AUTOMATION
Fixed Automation :
The sequence of Processing (or Assembly)
operations is fixed by the equipment configuration.
• High initial investment for custom-engineered
equipment
• High production rate
• Relatively inflexible in accommodating product
changes
Example: Mechanised Assembly Lines (1913)
Machining Transfer Lines (1924)
Programmable Automation:
The production equipment is designed with the
capability to change the sequence of operations to
accommodate different product configurations.
➢ High investment in general-purpose equipment
➢ Low production rate w.r.t fixed automation
➢ Flexibility to deal with the change in the product
configuration
Examples : NC Machine Tools (1952) and Industrial

Robots (1961)
Flexible Automation:
Extension of Programmable Automation. It is a
system capable of producing a variety of products with
virtually no time loss for changeovers from one product to
the next.
◆ High investment for a custom-engineered
system
◆ Continuous production of variable mixtures of
products
◆ Flexibility
Example: FMS (1960)
Detroit Type Automation: Automated Flow Lines
ASBY – Assembly Stations

INSP – Inspection Stations
SORT – Sortation Stations
The objectives of the use of flow line automation:

- To reduce labour cost
- To increase production rates
- To reduce work-in-process
- To minimize distances moved between operations
- To achieve integration of operations
Automated Flow Lines In-Line Type:

Two general forms that the workflow
can take: Sequence of workstations in more or less straight
line arrangement.
Rotary Type:
The workparts are

indexed around a
circular table or dial.
Rotary Indexing Machine
Rotary Indexing Machine
Part Transfer in Automated

Walking Beam Flow Lines
Transfer System
• To provide linear
travel for in-line
Pawl Type machines
Methods of Workpart Transport

General Methods of transporting workpieces:
➢ Continuous Transfer
➢Intermittent or Synchronous Transfer
➢Asynchronous or Power-and-Free Transfer
Choice depends on:

- The types of operations
- The number of stations on the line
- The weight and size of the workpiece
- Whether manual stations are included on the line
- Production rate requirement
- Balancing various process times on the line
Powered Roller Conveyor System or Chain Drive Conveyor

System
Indexing Mechanisms
Continuously Driven
Geneva
Mechanism Crossover Cam Indexing
Unit
Converts intermittent
translation motion into
angular motion
Transfer System in Automated Assembly

In-Line Continuous Transfer
Machines
•Work carriers move at constant speed while the workheads index back and forth
•Can not be used for heavy workheads and associated equipment due to difficulty in
acceleration and deceleration
Intermittent Transfer
(synchronous)
Rotary Indexing
In-Line Indexing Machine
Machine
Assembly of the
product is
completed during
A completed
one revolution of
the table
product is
removed after
each index
Work carriers are transferred intermittently

and the workheads remain stationary
In-Line Intermittent Transfer Mechanisms

Pawl-Type Transfer
In-Line Transfer Machine with
System
Shunting Work Carriers Returned in
Vertical Plane
Asynchronous Transfer Mechanisms
This system of transfer allows each workpart to move

to the next station when processing at the current
station has been completed.
These lines are often used where there are one or

more manually operated stations.
Analysis of Automated Flow Lines

Flow line performance can be analysed based on the
following measures:
1. Average production rate
2. Line efficiency (proportion of time the line is operating)
3. Cost per item produced on the line
Let us assume a synchronous transfer system with an ideal
or theoretical cycle time, Tc
Tc is the time required for parts to transfer plus processing
time at the longest workstation
The stations requiring less processing time than the longest

station will have a certain amount of idle time
Because of the breakdowns of the line, the actual average

production time (Tp ) will be longer than Tc
Td is the average downtime to diagnose the problem and

make repairs when a breakdown occurs
F is the frequency with which the line stops per cycle
Then, the mean time per cycle the machine
will be down = Td x F
The average production time, Tp= Tc+ Td x F
Average Production Rate, Rp= 1/ Tp
Theoretical Production Rate, Rc= 1/ Tc
The line efficiency, E =
Proportion of downtime,
In general, E + D = 1
Cost per item produced:

Let,
Cm is the cost of raw material per product
CL is the cost per minute to operate the line including

labour, overhead, maintenance, and the allocation of
capital cost of the equipment over its expected service
life.
Ct is the cost of any disposable tooling on a per

workpiece basis.
Then, cost per workpiece, Cpc= Cm+ CLTp+ Ct
Partial Automation:
Reasons for introducing Partial automation:
1. Mechanisation of a manually operated flow line is often

introduced gradually
2. Some manual operations are difficult to automate and it

may be uneconomical to do so. For example:
Alignments, assembly, inspection etc.
Total Line Cost, CL = n0C0 + naCas + Cat

Where,
C0 is the operator cost per manual station
Cas is the cost per automatic workstation, Rs./minute
Cat is the cost per minute of the automatic transfer
mechanism which will be used for both manual and
automatic stations to transfer the workpart.
na is the number of automatic stations
n0 is the number of manually operated stations
na + n0 = n = Total number of workstations on the line.
Average production time = Ideal Cycle time + Average

downtime per cycle
Tp= Tc+ Td x F = Tc + napTd
Where, p is the probability of part jamming at a particular

station.
It is to be noted that the breakdown occurs at automatic
workstations only.
Production and Throughput

The automatic assembly machine, whether it is in-line or rotary,
produces a complete assembly every time it indexes, regardless of
the number of stations in the assembly process. Therefore, to
compute the production rate of an automatic assembly machine, one
needs to know only the indexing cycle time, the number of stations is
immaterial.
Throughput Time is the time required to complete an assembly from
start to finish. This time is dependent upon the number of stations and
the indexing cycle time.
Example 1:
An 8-station dial indexing automatic assembly machine is driven by a Geneva
mechanism with a driver rotational speed of 30 rpm. Find the production and
throughput time of the machine.
Solution: Every revolution of the driver constitutes one indexing of the assembly
machine. Therefore the production rate is 30 units /min.
1 1
Production time = = x60 = 2 sec/ unit
Pr oduction Rate 30 units per min
Throughput Time = Production time x Number of Stations

= 2 sec x 8 stations = 16 sec
This is only the ideal production rate without considering the machine malfunction.
Example 2:
An 8-station rotary indexing assembly machine, driven by a Geneva mechanism,
has an indexing time of 3 sec and a dwell time of 5 sec. Under ideal condition the
machine produces a complete assembly in 8 sec, achieving a production rate of
1
x60 x60 = 450 units per hour.
8
Suppose, each station malfunctions once in every 100 cycles. One or more station
malfunction will immediately jam the indexing machine requiring an operator to
make adjustment to restart the machine. Suppose, the adjustment and restart time
is 10 minutes.
Solution:
If the chance of a station malfunction is 1 in 100 cycles, the chance that a given
station will not malfunction in a given cycle is 99% or 0.99. But all 8 stations
must operate without malfunction to produce a completed assembly
successfully.
So, the probability of no-malfunction in a given cycle is the product of chances
of no malfunction at each station during that cycle, or, 0.998 = 0.9227.
Therefore, out of 10,000 machine cycles, 9227 assemblies will be produced

without malfunction, with a cycle time of 8 sec/assembly. This will consume
9227 x 8 = 73816 sec = 20.5 hrs.
In the other (10,000 – 9227) = 773 cycles, at least 1 station will malfunction,
requiring 10 min to repair.
This will consume 773 x 10min/breakdown = 7730 min = 128.83 hrs.
Therefore, the total time to produce 9227 assemblies is 20.5 + 128.83 = 149.33
hrs.
128.83
The percent downtime is: = 0.863 = 86.3% of the total production time.
149.33
The production rate has been reduced from the total of 450 units/hr to:
9227 units
= 61.8 units / hr
149.33 hr
The efficiency of the assembly machine would be the ratio of the actual
production rate to the real production rate, calculated as:
61.8 units / hr
Efficiency = = 0.137 = 13.7%
450 units / hr
That is a drop of 86.3% in efficiency of ony one station malfunction rate.
Component Quality:
The predominant cause of assembly station malfunction is some random
variation in the components being assembled.
Suppose, in the previous example, 90% of the assembly malfunctions were due
to faulty components. Elimination of the component quality problem would
reduce the station malfunction rate from 1 out of 100 cycles to say, 1 out of
10,000 cycles.
Let us refigure the production rate and % downtime.
Probability of no malfunction in a given typical cycle = 0.999 = 0.9970

8
That is in 10,000 machine cycles, 9970 assemblies will be produced with no

malfunction with a cycle time of 8 sec/completed assembly.
This will consume,
9970 x 8 sec = 79,760 sec = 22.16 hrs.
In other (10,000 – 9970) = 30 cycles, at least 1 station will malfunction

requiring a 10 min of repair time. This will consume
30 x 10 min = 300 min = 5 hrs.
Therefore, the total time required = 22.16 + 5 = 27.16 hrs.
5 hrs
Percentage Downtime = = 18.4% (from 86.3%)
27.16 hrs
9970 units
Production Rate = = 367 units / hr
27.16 hrs
367
Production Efficiency = = 0.816 = 81.6%
450
Vibratory Bowl Feeder
•Vibration is applied to the bowl

from the electromagnet mounted
on the base
•It has a torsional vibration about
its vertical axis coupled with a
linear vertical vibration
•Any part of the inclined track
vibrates along a short straight path
which is inclined to the horizontal
at an angle greater than that of the
track
s
Mechanics of Vibratory Conveying For sliding up the track to occur:

m p a0 2 cos  m p g sin  + F .(1)
Where,
F =  s N =  s (m p g cos − m p a0 2 sin  ) ..(2)
 s -Coefficient of static friction

between the part and the track.
Combining (1) and (2), we get:
m p a0 2 cos  (m p g cos − m p a0 2 sin  ) s + m p g sin 
Or, a0 2 (cos +  s Sin )  g (sin  +  s cos )
a 0 2  cos  + sin  Similarly, it can be shown that for

Or,  s backward sliding to occur during the
g cos +  s Sin vibration cycle:
a 0 2  cos  − sin 
 s
g cos −  s Sin
33/116
Mechanics of Vibratory Conveying

The operating conditions of vibratory conveyor may be expressed in
terms of dimensionless Normal Track Acceleration, An/gn, where,
An = an 2 = a0 2 sin Normal Track Acceleration
g n = g cos  Normal Acceleration due to gravity
g – Acceleration due to gravity = 9.81 m/sec2
An a0 2 Sin Substituting (3) in earlier equations,

So, = ...(3)
gn gCos 
An  s + tan 
For Forward Sliding, 
g n Cot +  s
An  s − tan 
And, For Backward 
Sliding, g n Cot −  s
34/116
a 0 2  s cos  + sin 

g cos +  s Sin
An a0 2 Sin a0 2  An  cos 

= ...(3) = 
gn gCos  g  g n  sin
( s cos  + sin  ) An  s + tan 

An
 cos  
g n (cos + s sin g n Cot +  s
sin

For values of µs =0.8, θ = 3 degree and ψ = 30 degree,
An/gn must be > 0.34 for forward sliding, and
An/gn > 0.8 for backward sliding.
The limiting condition for forward conveying to occur is given by:
 s + tan   s − tan 
= or ,  s = tan  + Cot
2
Cot +  s Cot −  s
tan 
So, the limiting condition is ; tan 
s

when θ is small, tan 
s

For sufficiently large vibration amplitudes, the part will leave the
track and ‘hop’ forward during each cycle. The condition for this to
occur is where the normal reaction, N between the part and the
track becomes zero.
From the figure, N = m p gCos − m p a0 2 Sin = 0
So, for the part to leave the track,
a0 2 Cos A
 , or , n  1
g Sin gn
Effect of Frequency
Result of the theoretical work: The Mean conveying velocity, Vm is
inversely proportional to the vibration frequency, f.
or, f.Vm = Constant
One consequence of this result is that for high conveying velocity

and hence high feed rates, it is desirable to use as low a
frequency as practicable. However since the track acceleration
must be kept constant, this result means a corresponding
increase in track amplitude.
Effect of Track Acceleration
Parts start to ‘hop’ as An/gn>1.

At first the velocity of impact
as the parts land on the track
is small, but as the track
acceleration is increased, the
impact velocity also increases
until at some critical value,
the parts start to bounce.
38/116
Effect of Vibration Angle
These curves show the existence

of an optimum vibration angle for
given conditions.
Effect of Track Angle

Results Show: The highest
velocities are always achieved
when track angle is zero degree.
The mechanical design of a bowl
feeder necessitates a positive
track angle of 3 to 4 degrees in
order to raise the parts to the
bowl outlet. Therefore, the parts
located at the bottom having zero
degree track angle will push the
other parts on the track.
Effect of Coefficient of Friction
Results show: For practical

values of track acceleration,
an increase in coefficient of
friction leads to an increase
in conveying velocity.
Hence, increasing of  s by
coating the track with
rubber is justified. Coating
can also reduce the noise
level due to the motion of
the parts.
41/116
NUMERICAL EXAMPLES:
Problem – 1 : On Flow Line Performance
A machine tool component has to be produced on a 10-station transfer machine, the ideal cycle
time of which is 1 min. For similar transfer lines, the breakdowns of all types normally occur with
0.1 breakdowns/cycle and the average downtime per line stop is 6 min. The raw material costs
Rs. 50 each, the cost of operating the line is Rs.2400 per hour and the cutting tools cost is
Rs.6/piece. Considering the scrap rate of 5%, evaluate, only for good pieces:
i) Production Rate ii) Time to produce 1500 pieces/week

III) Line Efficiency iv) Cost per piece
SOLUTION:
(i) Average Production Time/piece, Tp = Tc + FTd = 1 + 0.1(6) = 1.6 min
Average Production rate, Rp = 1/Tp = 1/1.6 = 0.625 pcs/min = 37.5 pcs/hr
Production Rate for good parts = 0.95(37.5) = 35.625 pcs/hr = 0.593 pcs/min Ans.
(ii) Time taken to produce 1500 pcs/week = 1500/35.625 = 42.1 hr = 2526 min
(iii) Line Efficiency, E = 1.0/1.6 = 0.625 = 62.5%
(iv) Cost/good pieces = 1/0.95[50 + 40(1.6) + 6] = Rs. 126.315
NUMERICAL EXAMPLES:
(b) It is decided that the rejected components in Prob. above would be repaired
at a cost of Rs.80/piece. Suggest whether it would be economical.
Solution:
Cpc = 50 + (40x1.6) + 6 + 0.05(80) = 124 Rs/piece

which is less than Rs. 126.315,
Hence it would be economical.
Problem – 1 : On Vibratory Bowl Feeder
For a vibratory bowl feeder with 30 track inclination angle and 300 vibration
angle, determine the values of dimensionless normal track acceleration (An/gn),
and the amplitude of vibration (a0) for a positive feed rate to occur.
Solution:
Limiting condition for forward motion: tan Ψ = (tanθ/µ2)
Therefore, µ2 = (tan 3/ tan 30) = 0.0907; or, µ = 0.301
Reciprocating Tube Hopper Feeder
F1 is the force driving the tube down

F2 is the friction force
W = N 2 sin  − F2 cos  − F1
D D D
F1 (1 + cos  ) + cos  ( N 2 sin  − F2 cos  − F1 ) = N1 ( )sin 
2 2 2
N1 sin  = F1 (1 + cos  ) + cos  ( N 2 sin  − F2 cos  − F1 )

F2 = N 2 s
= F1 + F1 cos  + N 2 cos  (sin  − s cos  ) − F1 cos 
N1 cos 
= F1 + (sin  − s cos  )
cos  + s sin  )
N1
sin ce, N 2 =
cos  + s sin 
N1 sin  ( cos  + s sin  ) = F1 ( cos  + s sin  ) + N1 cos  (sin  − s cos  )
F1 s
=
N1 cos  +  s sin 

General Features:
➢Optimum hopper load = half the volume of the hopper
➢Delivery tube should just rise above the maximum level

of parts in the hopper
➢The inside silhouette of the delivery tube must be

designed to accept only correctly oriented part one at a
time
➢Linear velocity of the delivery tube should be less than

or equal to 0.6 m/sec
NUMERICAL EXAMPLES:
For a reciprocating tube hopper feeder with a static coefficient of friction between
the parts and the hopper wall of 0.3945, determine the hopper angle so that the
parts do not jam.
Solution:
Given, µs = 0.3945
For parts not to jam,
Centerboard Hopper Feeder
•Suitable for feeding cylindrical parts

•An optimum value of track inclination
angle exists and theoretically shown
to be functions of only µd and (rb/l)
•For example, for (r b/ l) = 2, µd = 0.4,
θopt=360
For reaction between the track and the part to become zero, N = 0:
For simplicity, it is now assumed that, during the period of the

upward motion of the blade, the drive to the blade is
designed to give
(1) a constant acceleration of (g cos θm)/rb, followed by
(2) a constant deceleration of (g cos θm)/rb.
Under these conditions, the total time t1 taken to lift the blade
so that the track is inclined at an angle θm to the horizontal
is given by:
4rb m
t =2
g cos  m
1
It is now assumed that when the blade is in its highest

position, it dwells for a period t2, just long enough to allow
the parts to slide down the track.
This is given, in the worst case, by the time taken for one
part to slide the whole length of the track. The forces acting
on a part under these circumstances are shown in Figure,
and resolving in a direction parallel to the track gives
Where, a is the linear acceleration of the part down the

track, and μd is the coefficient of dynamic friction between
the part and the track. The minimum dwell period t2 is now
given by
If the time taken to return the blade to its lowest position is now
assumed to be the same as the time for the up stroke, then the total
period tf of the feeder cycle is given by
This equation consists of two terms; one that increases as θm is

increased and one that decreases as θm is increased.
An optimum value of θm always exists that gives the minimum period tf

and, hence, a maximum theoretical feed rate. It can be shown
mathematically that this optimum value of θm is a function only of μd and
the ratio rb/l.
The maximum number of parts that may be selected during each cycle is
given by l/L.
In practice, the average number selected is less than this and, if E is taken
to be the efficiency of a particular design, the average number of parts fed
during each cycle is given E/L, and the mean feed rate F of the hopper
feeder is given by:
Where, the blade frequency n is given by:
In practice, the values of efficiency E must be obtained from experiments.
Numerical Example
A centreboard hopper feeder has a blade length of 260mm and is designed to

feed cylindrical parts end to end. The centre of rotation is 250mm from the
lower end of the blade track. The inclination of the track when the blade is in
its highest position is 450 and the coefficient of sliding friction between the
parts and the track is 0.3. Calculate the cycle time of the blade for the
upward motion of the blade.
Solution:
For reaction between the track and the part to become zero, N = 0:
𝐿 𝐿
𝑁 − 𝑚𝑝 𝑔 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃𝑚 = 𝑚𝑝 𝜃 𝑟𝑏 − 2 ; 𝑜𝑟, 𝑚𝑝 𝜃 𝑟𝑏 − 2 = −𝑚𝑝 𝑔 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃𝑚
Numerical Example
Reciprocating Fork Hopper Feeder
Usually used for feeding

headed parts
Analysis for the max.

fork inclination and the
max. rate of
reciprocation is similar
to that of centerboard
hopper feeder
External Gate Hopper Feeder

For design purpose, max. peripheral velocity of the inner cylinder
is determined for feeding to occur
Max. feed rate is determined as ratio of the velocity and the centerline
distance between adjacent slots of the cylinder
At a limiting velocity, V, the part will neither fall through the gate nor
pass over but will become jammed between corners B and C of the slot
and gate (Fig.b). At any velocity below V, the part will drop through the
gate (Fig c).
In Fig.(b), the part has moved horizontally from the position shown in
Fig.(a) by:
In a time interval:
During this time the part has fallen a distance:
Since the part has fallen freely, the time taken is given by:
From the basic equation:
Since the time is the same:
Rotary Disk Feeder
Parts are carried by the slots

in the rotating disk around the
stationary plate until they are
aligned to the delivery chute
Types:
a) Indexing Rotary Disk
Feeder
b) Rotary Disk Feeder with
Continuous drive
(a) Indexing Rotary Disk Feeder
If a Geneva mechanism is employed to index a rotary-disk feeder, the time taken for indexing will
be approximately equal to the dwell period. The time ts required for all parts in one slot to slide
into the delivery chute is given by:
where l is the length of the slot, θ the inclination of the delivery chute, and μd the coefficient
of dynamic friction between the part and the chute. With a Geneva drive, the total period of
an indexing cycle ti is therefore given by:
If L is the length of a part, the maximum number that may be selected in a slot is /L. In practice,
however, the average number selected will be less than this. If E is taken to be the efficiency of
the feeder, the feed rate F will be given by:
Centrifugal Hopper Feeder
•Suitable for feeding plain

cylindrical parts
•Unrestricted feed rate is
proportional to the square root of
the hopper diameter and inversely
proportional to the length of the
part
If a part is moving with constant velocity v around the inside wall of a centrifugal hopper, the radial
reaction at the hopper wall is equal to the centrifugal force 2mpv2/d, where mp is the mass of the part
and d the diameter of the hopper. The frictional force Fw at the hopper wall tends to resist the motion of
the part and is given by
Where, μw is the coefficient of friction between the part and the hopper wall. When the peripheral
velocity of the spinning disk is greater than v, the disk slips under the part, and the frictional force Fb
between the part and the spinning disk is given by
Where, μb is the coefficient of friction between the part and the spinning disk. Because, under this
condition, Fb = Fw, setting Equation 4.26 equal to Equation 4.27 gives
and the maximum feed rate Fmax of parts of length L is given by
and the actual feed rate F may be expressed as
This equation shows that the unrestricted feed rate from a centrifugal hopper is proportional to the square
root of the hopper diameter and inversely proportional to the length of the parts.
Using the Equation of V, the maximum rotational frequency nmax of the spinning disk, above which no
increase in feed rate occurs, is
This equation is plotted here and can be used

to choose the maximum rotational frequency
of the hopper.
Revolving Hook Hopper Feeder
If the rotational frequency of the

hook is too high, centrifugal
action prevents the parts from
moving inward toward the
delivery chute
Bladed Wheel Hopper Feeder

Rotation of the wheel agitates the
parts in the hopper and causes parts
arriving at the delivery point in the
wrong attitude to be pushed back
into the mass of the parts
Track inclination angle = 450
Max. Linear Velocity of the Blade Tip

= 0.7 m/s
Used for feeding nuts and cylinders
Tumbling Barrel Hopper Feeder
Parts are carried upward by

the fins of barrel until at
some point they slide off the
fins to the vibratory feed
track
Performance of a tumbling-barrel hopper when feeding cylinders. The feed rate is Mv/L + 0.7 parts/sec, where M is the
modified efficiency, v the conveying velocity on the vibratory rail (m/sec), and L the part length (m). The ratio of barrel
length to diameter d is 1.2; d/D = 21.
Performance of a tumbling-barrel hopper when feeding U-shaped parts. The feed rate is Ev/L, where E is the efficiency, v the
conveying velocity on the vibratory rail, and L the part length. The ratio of barrel length to diameter d is 1.2; d/W = 13; and
0.4 < L/W < 1.2.
Rotary Centerboard Hopper Feeder
The edges of the blades are

profiled to collect parts in the
desired attitude and lift them
clear of the bulk, later to slide
off the blade
Magnetic Disk Feeder
Magnetic Elevating Hopper Feeder
The magnetic elevating hopper feeder is basically the same as the elevating hopper feeder except that, instead of ledges,
permanent magnets are fitted to the endless belt. Thus, the feeder is suitable only for handling ferromagnetic materials and
cannot easily be used for orientation purposes. This feeder is usually used to strip the parts from the magnets at the top of the
belt conveyor.
Part Orientation
To feed the parts to the

workheads in correct
orientation
TYPES :
a) In-bowl Tooling
(active and passive)
b) Out-of-bowl Tooling
(active)
Part Orientation
Commonly employed
to orient washers
Orienting Device : Cut out
This device makes use

of the difference in
shape between the top
and the base of the
part to be fed
Orienting Device : Cut out
Orientation of U-shaped Parts
Convenient to feed them supported

on a rail
Area covered by the

top of the part is very
much smaller than the
area covered by its
base
Orienting Device : Narrowed Track
Employed to orient parts lengthwise end to end

while permitting only one row of pass
Analysis of Orienting Systems
Out-of-Bowl Reorienting Devices

These types of orienting devices are situated between the feeder and
the workhead. They are usually of active types.
Position of the centre

of gravity of a part is
utilized
Out-of-Bowl Reorienting Devices

Reorientation of shallow-drawn parts
Consists of a stationary
container in which a wheel
is mounted with radial
slots. This wheel is driven
by an indexing mechanism
to ensure that slots always
align with the chute
Feed Tracks
To provide easy access to automatic workheads and the assembly
machines, part feeders are usually placed some distance away from the
workhead
Feed tracks connect

part feeders to
workheads of
assembly machines
For the vertical design, the time

of delivery, tp will be given by
the time taken for a part to fall
a distance equals to its own
0.5
length:  2L 
tp =  
 g 
L – part length, g- acceleration
due to gravity= 9.81 m/s2
Analysis of Horizontal Delivery Feed Track
This portion consists of a horizontal section

AB of length L1, preceded by a curved
portion BC of constant radius R, which, in
turn, is preceded by a straight portion
inclined at an angle α to the horizontal.
It is assumed in the following analysis that a certain fixed number of parts are
maintained in the track above the delivery point.
If the length of the straight inclined portion of the track containing parts is
denoted by L2, the number of parts Np is given by
The weight of the section AB = m1 L1 g

The total frictional resistance in this region is:
is the coefficient of friction (dynamic) between the parts and the track
The equation of motion for section AB is given by

F1 − d m1L1 g = m1L1a
where F1 is the force exerted on the parts in section AB by the remainder of

the parts in the feed track, and a is the initial acceleration of all the parts.
Similarly, the column of parts in the straight inclined portion CD of the feed
track is partly restrained by a force F2, given by
F2 − m1L2 g sin  + m1L2 d g cos  = m1L2a
F2 = m1 L2 ( g sin  −  d g cos  + a )
To analyze the motion of the parts in the curved section BC of the feed track,
it is necessary to consider an element of length Rdθ on a portion of the track that
is inclined at an angle θ to the horizontal.
Free body diagram for an element
The equilibrium equation of forces

in the radial direction n is
Ignoring dFd
The equation of motion in the tangential direction t is
rearranging the terms, the following first-order linear differential equation with
constant coefficients is obtained:
The general solution to Equation
This equation relates the acceleration of the line of parts along the curved and
horizontal sections of the track when a force F is applied to the end of the line
located at an angle θ.
There are two applicable boundary conditions: θ = 0, F = F1, and θ = α, F

= F2. The first boundary condition gives
Using this second boundary condition and solving Equation 5.8 for a/g, we obtain
This equation shows the relationship between the non-dimensional

acceleration a/g of the entire line of parts and the design parameters L2/R,
L1/R, α, and μd..
the time tp for one part to move into the workhead can be found from the
kinematic expression
Equation can be approximated as
ON – OFF Sensors
➢ When automatic feeding devices are used on assembly machines, the mean
feed rate is usually set higher than the assembly rate to ensure a continuous
supply of parts at the workhead.
➢ Under these circumstances, the feed tracks become full, and parts back up
to the feeder.
➢ For vibratory-bowl feeders, however, this method is not always satisfactory.

With these feeders, the parts in the line in the feed track are usually
prevented by a pressure brake from interfering with the orienting devices
mounted on the bowl-feeder track. If a part filters past the orienting devices
and arrives at the pressure break when the delivery chute is full, it is
rejected back into the bowl. If this occurs too frequently, excessive wear to
both the bowl and the parts can result.
To solve the problems caused by overfeeding and, consequently, ease the

problem of wear, a simple control system can be employed that incorporates
sensing devices located at two positions on the feed track.
Powered Feed Tracks

Most commons are:
1. Vibratory Tracks
2. Air-assisted Tracks
Vibratory Tracks: ➢ Operates at the same principle as
the vibratory bowl feeder.
➢ It is found that the mean conveying
velocity for a wide range of  will be
given by: V = 4500 mm / s , for
m An
f  = 200 and = 1.2
gn
f is the frequency of vibration
Air-Assisted Tracks:
These are often gravity feed

tracks with air jet suitably placed
to assist the transfer of parts.
Important Points of all types of Feed

Tracks
•For good space utilization a feed track should not
be too long
•Feed tracks besides acting as a transfer device,
provides a buffer stock of parts which, if a
blockage occurs, will allow the workhead to
continue operating for a limited period
•In the event of a blockage, the parts are readily
accessible. For this reason, feed tracks should be
designed to allow easy access to all parts of the
track
Escapements
Simplest type of escapement where parts
are pulled from the fed track by the work
carrier and the escapement itself consists
of only a rocker arm and a spring blade
Escapements
Gate Escapement
Main Use:
To provide an
alternative path for
parts
Ratchet Escapements Operated by linear

motion
Slide Escapements delivering Slide Escapements operating

into single feed chute several feed chutes
Slide Escapements supplying two

or more delivery chutes from a Drum Escapement
single feed chute
Star Wheel and Worm Escapements
Jaw Escapement
By far the most widely used parts-placing mechanism is a conventional

gravity feed track working in conjunction with an escapement. This system of
parts placing is probably the cheapest available, but it has certain limitations:
1. It may not be possible to place and fasten parts at the same position on
the machine because of interference between the feed track and the
workhead. This would necessitate a separate workstation for positioning
the part, which would result in an increase in the length of the machine. It
then becomes necessary to retain the part in its correct orientation in the
assembly during transfer.
2. If a close fit is required between the part and the assembly, the force due
to gravity may not be sufficient to ensure that the part seats properly.
3. If the part cannot be suitably chamfered, the gravity feed track may not
give the precise location required.
Part Placing Mechanisms
For placing of screws and

rivets, which together form
a large proportion of all part
placing requirements, and
where the tool activates the
escapement and applies
the required force to make
assembly possible, the
gravity feed track is
invariably used.
Design for Automatic Assembly
Product design for ease of assembly
Design for Automatic

Assembly
Design of parts for feeding and
orientation
Product Design for ease of assembly
1. Reduce the number of different parts to a minimum :

can be achieved by employing one of the new processes that enable
complex parts to be produced, e.g., Precision Die Casting or New
Forming Processes
2. Introduction of guides and tapers which directly facilitate
assembly
3. Assembly in sandwich or layer fashion
4. Assembly on a base
Product Design for ease of assembly:

Introduction of guides and tapers which directly facilitate assembly

Assembly in sandwich or layer fashion

It is always necessary in automatic assembly to have a base part on which
the assembly can be built. This base part must have features that make it
suitable for quick and accurate location on the work carrier.
Location of the base part in the

horizontal plane is often achieved by
dowel pins mounted in the work carrier.
Design of Parts for feeding and orienting
Design of Parts for feeding and orienting
Precedence Diagram
Performance and Economics of Assembly Systems

Multi-station assembly machines may be classified into two main groups according
to the system used to transfer assemblies from workstation to workstation:
1. Indexing machines : those assembly machines that transfer all the work
carriers simultaneously and a stoppage of any individual
workhead causes the whole machine to stop
2. Free-transfer or nonsynchronous assembly machines : the workheads are

separated by buffers containing assemblies, and transfer to and from these buffers
occurs when the particular workhead has completed its cycle of operations.
One of the principal problems in applying automation to the assembly process

is the loss in production resulting from stoppages of automatic workheads when
defective component parts are fed to the machine.
The quality levels of the parts to be used in automatic assembly must,

therefore, be considered when an assembly machine is designed.
INDEXING MACHINES : EFFECT OF PARTS QUALITY ON DOWNTIME

n – Number of automatic workheads
t – Cycle Time
x - ratio of defective parts to acceptable parts
m - proportion of the defective parts causing machine stoppages
T - Time taken for an operator, on average, to locate the failure,
remove the defective part, and restart the machine.
N – Number of assemblies produced
Therefore, the total downtime due to stoppages in producing N assemblies will

be = mxnNT
Since, each time the machine indexes, all assembly tasks are completed and
one assembly is delivered from the machine;
hence, the Machine Time to assemble N assemblies = Nt sec
The proportion of downtime D on the machine is given by :
For standard fasteners such as screws, which are often employed in assembly
processes, an average value for x might be between 0.01 and 0.02. In other
words, for every 100 acceptable screws, there would be between one and two
defective ones. A higher quality level is generally available, but with screws, for
example, a reduction of x to 0.005 may double their price and seriously affect the
cost of the final assembly.
➢The downtime on an assembly machine

having 10 automatic workheads is 0.33 of
the total time available.
➢These results show why it is rarely

economical to use indexing machines
having a large number of automatic
workheads.
➢They also illustrate why, in practice, it is

advisable to allow for downtime when
considering the use of an indexing
assembly machine.
Effect of parts quality on indexing machine downtime; n is the number of

automatic workheads, t the machine cycle time, T the time to correct a machine
fault, and m the proportion of defective parts causing a machine stoppage.
EFFECTS OF PARTS QUALITY ON PRODUCTION TIME

In the preceding example, it was assumed that all the defective parts fed to the
automatic workheads would stop the machine (that is, m = 1).
In practice, however, some of these defective parts would pass through the
feeding devices and automatic workheads, but would not be assembled correctly
and would result in the production of an unacceptable assembly.
In this case, the effect of the defective part would be to cause downtime on the
machine equal to only one machine cycle.
The time taken to produce N assemblies, whether these are acceptable or not, is
given by (Nt + mxnNT)
and, if m < 1, only about [N – (1 m)xnN] of the assemblies produced will be

acceptable.
The average production time tpr of acceptable assemblies is therefore given by:
Taking typical values of x = 0.01, t = 6 sec, T = 30 sec, and n = 10,
for a maximum production rate of acceptable

assemblies, m should be as small as possible. In
other words, when designing the workheads for an
indexing assembly machine when a high production
rate is required, it is preferable to allow a defective
part to pass through the feeder and workhead and
“spoil” the assembly rather than allow it to stop the
machine.
EFFECT OF PARTS QUALITY ON THE COST OF ASSEMBLY

The total cost Ct of each acceptable assembly produced on an assembly
machine
Where, Mt is the total cost of operating the machine per unit time and includes
operators’ wages, overhead charges, actual operating costs, machine
depreciation, and the cost of dealing with the unacceptable assemblies
produced, and tpr is the average production time of acceptable assemblies
Estimation of Mt : Assume:
1. a machine stoppage caused by a defective part will be cleared by one of the
operators employed on the machine and that no extra cost will be entailed
other than that due to machine downtime.
2. if a defective part passes through the workhead and spoils an assembly, it

will take an extra assembly worker tc sec to dismantle the assembly and
replace the non-defective parts in the appropriate feeding devices.
Thus, the total operating cost Mt is given by
Where, M is the cost of operating the machine per unit time if only acceptable
assemblies are produced and Wa is the assembly worker’s rate, including
overhead.
The number of unacceptable assemblies produced per unit time is denoted by Pu
and is given by
Therefore,
In estimating the cost Ci of an individual component part, it will be assumed

that this can be broken down into :
(1) the basic cost of the part, irrespective of quality level, and
(2) a cost that is inversely proportional to x and that will therefore increase for
better-quality parts.
Thus, the cost of each part may be expressed as :
In this equation, B is a measure of the cost due to quality level and, for the
purposes of the present analysis, will be assumed to be constant regardless of the
basic cost Ai of the parts.
So, the total cost Ct of each acceptable assembly becomes, after rearrangement,
This equation shows that the total cost of an assembly can be broken down
as follows:
1. A cost that will decrease as x is reduced
2. A cost that is constant
3. A cost that will increase as x is reduced
It follows that, for a given situation, an optimum value of x will exist that will give a
minimum cost of assembly.
With m = 1, ……. (1)
For the optimum value of x, giving the minimum cost of assembly:
Putting the value of In Eq. 1
For certain A and B
It is possible to draw two main conclusions :

1. for the situation analyzed, it would be preferable to
allow a defective part to pass through the workhead
and spoil the assembly rather than to allow it to
stop the indexing machine. This would not only
increase the production rate of acceptable assemblies
but would also reduce the cost of assembly.
2. An optimum quality level of parts always exists that
will give minimum cost of
assembly.
Any workhead on a free-transfer assembly machine will be forced to stop under

THREE different circumstances:
1. If a defective part is fed to the workhead and prevents the completion of its
cycle of operations. Then an interval of T seconds elapses before the fault is
cleared and the workhead is re-started.
2. If the adjacent workhead up the line has stopped and the supply of
assemblies in the buffer storage between them is exhausted.
3. If the adjacent workhead down the line has stopped and the buffer storage
between them is full.
Performance of a Free Transfer Machine
➢ For a typical workhead on a free-transfer machine producing N assemblies, Nx

stoppages will occur if m is unity. If each fault takes T sec to correct, the downtime
on the first workhead due to its own stoppages is given by NxT.
➢ If two adjacent workheads have “a” assemblies in the buffer storage between them,
then a fault in the 1 workhead will prevent the 2 from working after a time lag of “at”
seconds.
➢ A fault in 2 will prevent the 1 from working after a time lag of [(b-a)t] sec.
➢ Assumption is made that no workhead will stop while another has stopped..
For the workhead 1: (producing N assemblies)

❖ Nx stoppages will occur when m=1. If each fault takes T sec to correct,
the downtime on the first workhead due to its own stoppages is given by
NxT.
❖ Average downtime in 2 is the same as 1 which is NxT.
❖ But a fault in 2 will prevent 1 from working for a period of Nx[T − ( b − a1 ) t ] sec
❖ Similarly, stoppages of 3 will prevent the 1 from working for a period of
Nx[T − ( 2b − a1 − a2 ) t ] sec
Similar expressions can be derived from the effects of 4.
Therefore, the total downtime on 1, while producing N assemblies will be:
d1 = TNx + T − ( b − a1 ) t  Nx + Nx T − ( 2b − a1 − a2 ) t  + Nx T − ( 3b − a1 − a2 − a3 ) t 
d1
Or , = T + T − ( b − a1 ) t  + T − ( 2b − a1 − a2 ) t  + T − ( 3b − a1 − a2 − a3 ) t 
Nx
The analysis is based on the fact that over a long period, the average downtime
on each workhead must be the same, i.e,
d1 = d2 = d3 = d4
d1 d 2 d3 d 4
Then all the equations of , , , could be solved simultaneously to get
Nx Nx Nx Nx
the values of a1 … a3 in terms of “b”
Putting these values in the equations of the downtime of

machines can be found out.

Lec 1 Introduction Slides 1 20 Merged

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Lec 1 Introduction Slides 1 20 Merged

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Manufacturing Automation: Lecture Series

A trend of Science and Technology which causes a

Truly Automated System

Truly Automated System

WILL NOT WIDESPREAD

•Elimination of human labour has been going on

•The mechanization of labour has not only

•Greater productivity of mass production

•It has also made possible the

Reasons for Automation

Examples : NC Machine Tools (1952) and Industrial

Detroit Type Automation: Automated Flow Lines

ASBY – Assembly Stations

The objectives of the use of flow line automation:

Automated Flow Lines In-Line Type:

The workparts are

Rotary Indexing Machine

Rotary Indexing Machine

Part Transfer in Automated

Methods of Workpart Transport

Choice depends on:

Powered Roller Conveyor System or Chain Drive Conveyor

Transfer System in Automated Assembly

Work carriers are transferred intermittently

In-Line Intermittent Transfer Mechanisms

Asynchronous Transfer Mechanisms

This system of transfer allows each workpart to move

These lines are often used where there are one or

Analysis of Automated Flow Lines

The stations requiring less processing time than the longest

Because of the breakdowns of the line, the actual average

Td is the average downtime to diagnose the problem and

The average production time, Tp= Tc+ Td x F

Average Production Rate, Rp= 1/ Tp

Theoretical Production Rate, Rc= 1/ Tc

The line efficiency, E =

Cost per item produced:

CL is the cost per minute to operate the line including

Ct is the cost of any disposable tooling on a per

Then, cost per workpiece, Cpc= Cm+ CLTp+ Ct

1. Mechanisation of a manually operated flow line is often

2. Some manual operations are difficult to automate and it

Total Line Cost, CL = n0C0 + naCas + Cat

na + n0 = n = Total number of workstations on the line.

Average production time = Ideal Cycle time + Average

Tp= Tc+ Td x F = Tc + napTd

Where, p is the probability of part jamming at a particular

Production and Throughput

Throughput Time = Production time x Number of Stations

Therefore, out of 10,000 machine cycles, 9227 assemblies will be produced

That is a drop of 86.3% in efficiency of ony one station malfunction rate.

Probability of no malfunction in a given typical cycle = 0.999 = 0.9970

That is in 10,000 machine cycles, 9970 assemblies will be produced with no

In other (10,000 – 9970) = 30 cycles, at least 1 station will malfunction

Vibratory Bowl Feeder

•Vibration is applied to the bowl

Manufacturing Automation: Lecture Series

Mechanics of Vibratory Conveying For sliding up the track to occur:

 s -Coefficient of static friction

m p a0 2 cos  (m p g cos − m p a0 2 sin  ) s + m p g sin 

Or, a0 2 (cos +  s Sin )  g (sin  +  s cos )

a 0 2  cos  + sin  Similarly, it can be shown that for

Mechanics of Vibratory Conveying