GROUP TECHNOLOGY (GT)

 GT is a manufacturing philosophy in which similar parts are identified & grouped together to
make advantage of their similarities in design and production.
 Similar parts are arranged into part families, where each part family possesses similar design
and/or manufacturing characteristics.
 The processing of each member of a given family would be similar, and this results in
manufacturing efficiencies.
 In some plants where GT has been implemented, the production equipment is arranged into
machine groups, or cells, in order to facilitate work flow and parts handling, where each cell
specializes in the production of a part family, is called cellular manufacturing.
Implementing Group Technology (GT)

Identifying the part families: If the plant makes 10,000 different parts, reviewing
all of the part drawings and grouping the parts into families is a substantial task
that consumes a significant amount of time.
Rearranging production machines into cells: It is time consuming and costly to
plan and accomplish this rearrangement, and the machines are not producing
during the change over.
Part family, is a collection of parts that are similar
either because of geometric shape and size or because
similar processing steps are required in their
manufacture.
The parts within a family are different, but their
similarities are close enough to merit their identification
as members of the part family.
Machine cell, Group of machineries used to process an
individual part family
FUNCTIONAL (OR) PROCESS LAYOUT LINE (OR) PRODUCT LAYOUT/ GT LAYOUT

GROUP (OR) COMBINATION LAYOUT /CELLULAR LAYOUT

PROCESS TYPE LAYOUT: In case process-type layout various machine tools
are arranged by function. There is lathe section, milling machine section, drill
press section, and so on. During the machining of a given part, the work-
piece is must be moved between section, some case the same being visited
several times. This results in a significant amount of material handling, this
results long manufacturing times.
GT layout :Machines arranged into cells. Each cell is organized to specialize in
the manufacturing of a particular part family. Advantages are gained in the
form of reduced work-piece handling, lower setup times, less in-process
inventory, less floor space, and shorter lead times. Some of the
manufacturing cells can be designed to form production flow lines, with
conveyors used to transport work parts between machines in the cell.
 METHODS FOR PART FAMILY
There are three general methods for solving part families grouping. The three methods
are:
1. Visual inspection.
2. Parts classification and coding.
3. Production flow analysis.
1. Visual Inspection Method

The visual inspection method is the least

sophisticated and least expensive method.
It involves the classification of parts into families
by looking at either the physical parts or their
photographs and arranging them into groups
having similar features.
2. Parts Classification and Coding Method
In parts classification and coding, similarities among parts are identified, and these
similarities are related in a coding system.

 Two categories of part similarities can be distinguished:

1. Design attributes: which concerned with part characteristics such as

geometry, size and material. (Basic external and internal shape Rotational or
rectangular shape, L/D ratio, Aspect ratio, Dimensions and Tolerances)

2. Manufacturing attributes: which consider the sequence of processing steps

required to make a part.(Major processes, Minor operations, Operation sequence,
Dimension, Surface finish, Machine tool Production cycle time)
There are three basic code structures used in group technology
1. Monocode or hierarchical code
2. Polycode or Attribute
3. Hybrid or mixed code

1.Monocode or Hierarchical code

In which the interpretation of each
successive symbol depends on the
value of the preceding symbols.
2. Polycode or Attribute Code: 3. Hybrid or Decision Code:
Construction to combine the best
In which the interpretation of each
features of monocodes and
symbol in the sequence is always the
Polycodes. Best examples of a hybrid
same, it does not depend on the value
code is the opitz code and
of the preceding symbols.
classification system
Opitz Classification System ( H. opitz - university of Aachen in Germany
Opitz code uses mixed code structure & consists of a geometric code and
supplementary code.
Geometric Code :
 Represent parts of different variety like rotational, flat, long, and cubic.
 A dimension ratio is used in classifying the geometry
L/D ratio - to classify rotational components
L/W & L/H ratios - to classify the non-rotational parts.
 Opitz geometric code uses 5 decimal digits, each representing component class,
basic shape, rotational surface machining, plane surface machining, auxiliary
holes, gear teeth, & forming.
 Primary, secondary, & auxiliary shapes can be represented using the five
geometric digits.
Supplement Code:
 Use 4 digits.

The first digit represents the major dimension (diameter or length). The approximate
component size can be figured out using the dimension ratio specified in the geometric
code. The dimension range is specified form 0.9 to 80. Dimensions of less than 0.9 and
greater than 80 are represented by 0 or 9 code, respectively.

The material type, raw material shape, and accuracy are represented by digits 2, 3 and 4.

This coding system is currently used at Lockheed-Georgia company in their automated

process planning system.
15100
 Example: Opitz part coding System
Given the rotational part design below, determine the form code in the Opitz
parts classification and coding system.
Solution
• Length-to-diameter ratio: L/D = 1.5 Digit 1 = 1
• External shape: both ends stepped with screw thread on one end Digit 2 = 5
• Internal shape: part contains a through hole Digit 3 = 1
• Plane surface machining: none Digit 4 = 0
• Auxiliary holes, gear teeth, etc.: none Digit 5 = 0

The form code in the Opitz system is: 15100

DCLASS Coding system
DCLASS Stands for Design and Classification Information System developed at Brigham
Young University
Several premises were adopted and used as the basis for the development of the DCLASS code:
• A part may be best characterized by its basic shape, usually its most apparent attribute.
• Each basic shape may have several features, such as holes, slots, threads, and grooves.
• A part can be completely characterized by basic shape: features, size, precision, and material
type, form, and condition.
• Several short code segments can be linked to form a part classification code that is human-
recognizable and adequate for human monitoring.
• Each of these code segments can point to more detailed information.

The DCLASS part family code is comprised of 8 digits partitioned into five code segments
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Basic Shape From feature Size Precision Material

Each Code Description:
• Three digits that form the first set are used to denote the basic shape.
• The form features code which is one digit in length is entered in the next
segment. If is used to specify the complexity of the part such as holes and
slots, heat treatment and special surface finishes and is determined by the
number of special features.
• The third segment which is one-digit-long specifies the overall size of the part.
• Precision of the part is indicated in the fourth segment as a single digit.
• The last two digits of the code specify the material type.
• An example of DCLASS code for the part Bushing :BO1 2 3 A7
MI CLASS Coding System
•It stands for Metal Institute Classification system and developed by Netherlands
•Organization for Applied Scientific research. It is referred as Multiclass system.
•MICLASS classification range from 1 to 30 digits.
•Universal code are the first 12 digits code and next 18 digits are Supplementary code
The first four digits deal with the form: main shape, shape elements, and the
position of these elements. The main shape of a part is the form of the
final product as depicted in the drawing. It could be a rotational part, a boxlike
part, a flat part, or some other non-rotational part. Shape elements are part
features such as holes, slots, and grooves.
The next four digits provide dimensional information: the main dimension, the
ratio of the various dimensions, and the auxiliary dimension. The use of the
auxiliary dimension varies with the main shape of the part; in general, it
provides additional size information.
Digits 9 and 10 contain tolerance information, and the final two digits provide
a machinability index of the material.
MICLASS code Structure
 3. Production Flow Analysis (PFA)
Production flow analysis (PFA) is a method for identifying part families and
associated machine groupings that uses the information contained on process
plans rather than on part drawings.
Steps involved in PFA
1. Data Collection: The minimum data needed in the analysis are the part number
and operation sequence, which are obtained from process plans.
2. Sortation of process plan:s A sortation procedure is used to group parts with
identical process plans.
3. PFA Chart: The processes used for each group are then displayed in a PFA chart
4. Clustering Analysis: From the pattern of data in the PFA chart, related
groupings are identified and rearranged into a new pattern that brings together
groups with similar machine sequences.
 PFA chart, Original Rearranged:

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 5 3 6 2 4
Part Part

Machine
Machin
e

A 1 1 1 A 1 1 1
B 1 1 1 D 1 1 1
C 1 1 1 F 1 1 1
D 1 1 1 C 1 1 1
E 1 1 1 B 1 1 1
F 1 1 1 E 1 1 1
 Rank Order Clustering Algorithm is a simple algorithm used
to form machine-part groups.
Step 0: Total number of components and components sequence

Step 1: Form the machine-component incidence matrix using the component

sequences.
Step 2: Assign binary weight and calculate a decimal weight for each row.

Step 3: Rank the rows in order of decreasing decimal weight values.

Step 4: Repeat steps 2 and 3 for each column.

Step 5: Continue preceding steps until there is no change in the position

of each element in the row and the column.
 Example
Consider a problem of 5 machines and
6 parts. Try to group them by using
Rank Order Clustering Algorithm.
1 2

3 4
END
The KK-3 System:
This is a coding system
designed for machining parts.

This was developed by the

Japan Society for the
promotion of the Machining
Industry.
This system contains 21 digit
decimal system. More number
of digits enables the system to
represent more information