AOS1 Flashcards
(39 cards)
SCALES OF MANUFACTURING
-One - off creations
-Low - volume production
-Mass (high-volume) production
-Continuous production
SCALES OF MANUFACTURING
one-off manufacturing
One-off unique article or large product is made to a specific design requirement.
CHARACTERISTICS:
- Items are generally hand crafted
- It can be costly to have one-off products made
- Usually results in high-quality (custom made) products
EXAMPLES:
- Jewellery
- Boats
- Plane or vehicle
- Suits (wedding)
- Wedding dress
- Custom furniture
- Tailor made prosthetics
note: Sometimes a prototype is considered a one- off product if it has not yet been mass produced
technology used in one off products
- hand operated machines
- CAD
- 3D printing
- laser cutting
- hand tools
- factory technology
custom made definition
designed and made to suit a customer for a specific situation
SCALES OF MANUFACTURING
low volume production
Made for a niche market or is a new product to the market
CHARACTERISTICS:
-Can also be called ‘Job-Lot’ or ‘Batch’ production.
- Small number of products are made for a specific reason
- An item can be manufactured locally in smaller multiples in comparison to manufacturing offshore (dealing only in thousands and upward)
- Designers and manufacturers can respond quickly to changes in the
market demand, adapting the design.
- Often used by designers with specialised products
- Costs can occur when adapting a design during manufacturing, it is usually beneficial financially in terms of producing items that will likely sell.
EXAMPLES:
- year 12 hoodies
- limited edition runners
economies of scale
cost savings made when the per unit cost is low as materials can be purchased in bulk, and discounts and manufacturing set-up costs are shared over many products
technologies used in low volume production
-CAD
-CAM
-CNC
-automation
-robotics
-laser or 3D printing
SCALES OF MANUFACTURING
mass (high) volume production
Faster and cheaper cost per item
CHARACTERISTICS:
- The production of thousands, and sometimes millions of items
- This process is usually standardised and usually inflexible.
- Needs to be planned carefully as it is time-consuming and expensive to set-up
- Can be risky financially - manufacturers need to be sure there is a market/ need for
their product if they are producing thousands of units.
- Production-line or assembly - line production is a type of mass production often dedicated to completing a single, complex product, such as cars.
- This can involve robotics, skilled and unskilled workers
- Gives greatest economies of scale: there is minimal downtime and materials can be purchased in bulk at lower cost.
EXAMPLES:
- smartphones
- vacuum cleaners
SCALES OF MANUFACTURING:
continuous production
CHARACTERISTICS:
- Also known as ‘volume’ production
- Occurs 24 hours 7 days a week
- This is run by Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) systems
- It has no interruptions
- It must be monitored so that any problems are quickly rectified
EXAMPLES:
- bottled water
- plastic chairs
- fuel
technologies used in high volume/mass production and continuous production
- CAD to feed CAM
- CDC
- automation
- AI
- robotics
- laser
- 3D printing
COMPARISON OF TWO SCALES OF PRODUCTION
one-off production
vs
Mass/ continuous production
ONE-OFF PRODUCTION:
- People who make the product are multi-skilled
- Production is overseen by one person
- This work can be varied and interesting
- Creator/ maker will see the product completed
- One item is produced at a time. No two products are the same
- It may take a long time to make the product
- The cost of making the product is usually quite high (relates to materials)
- Quality of the product depends on the
creator/ maker
MASS/CONTINUOUS PRODUCTION:
-Workers may have limited skills, or a
one-off specific skill, or only work on part of
the production
- The work may be repetitive, boring and dull
- Factory workers may only see one part of
the product
-Hundreds or thousands of one product are made
- Average time to produce the product is reduced
- The cost of the product is lowered due to
the ‘economic scale’ - cheaper price for
buying larger quantities
- The quality of the product depends on the accuracy of the machines, the systems and the staff that run them.
Technologies
Technologies are the tools, machinery, equipment, systems and software involved in production.
Traditional technologies
-Traditional technologies are those that are still currently used that have been around for hundreds of years, those that are cultural and passed on through generations and those that might be specific to an area due to materials available there.
-Some of these technologies would be hand tools, hand machinery or simple electrical machinery used in a straightforward system.
- Many are still in use and are valued for their simplicity, low impact and skilled, individual control.
New and emerging technologies
-New and emerging technologies are completely new technologies as well as those that have been around for decades but continue to develop and evolve, becoming ever more sophisticated and complex.
- They also tend to be safer and more efficient than traditional technologies. Occasionally an innovative technology comes along and upends all previous methods of production.
NEW AND EMERGING
TECHNOLOGIES (includes)
- Automation
- Artificial Intelligence
- Laser Technology
- Robotics
- Computer-aided design (CAD)
- Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM)
- Computer numerical control (CNC)
- Rapid prototyping (3D Printing)
Automation
-Automation is the automated control of technologies and machines, usually by computers.
- increase production efficiency and accuracy, by reducing human input and therefore human error
- Software is used to control mechanical, electrical or computerised actions that were previously performed by humans
- has automated feedback loops and checks to reduce human involvement even further
- most useful for repetitive, complex or unsafe processes
- works with many other new and emerging technologies described on the following pages
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
-Artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to improve overall productivity and operational efficiency in manufacturing.
- AI involves complex computer programming that uses machine learning (ML) to make decisions on manufacturing
processes that are efficient and economic by analysing data quickly without human interaction.
- These decisions are
implemented via other 4IR technologies.
In manufacturing, AI can:
- create and optimise a design in CAD from scratch by using algorithms (sets of software instructions to be followed
in calculations), which engineers can test and check, replacing months of design work - move parts around the factory so no humans are needed
- collect and respond to a large amount of operational data
- use automated image recognition to perform quality checks and inspections to reduce errors/defects
- find and identify patterns that are unseen by humans, particularly of small errors resulting in defective products that
need to be discarded, known as the scrap rate - predict maintenance that will be needed and perform it
- predict delays or issues with supply chains and identify bottlenecks (crowded slow spots in the production line)
- forecast and monitor completion/delivery dates of products and parts
- monitor facilities in real time
AI in Products
-Artificial intelligence can also be incorporated into products.
- A well-known example is self-driving cars. Cameras and sensors feed information into ‘neural networks’ (like neural pathways in the human nervous system) to build up a vast amount of data for machine learning
(ML).
- The algorithms build information on obstacles such as trees, traffic lights, pedestrians and other cars as well as data from Google Maps.
- All the technology involved makes up the artificial intelligence that replaces human decisions and actions in a fraction of a second to control the car.
AI can also be used in film editing, drones, video games, security and
surveillance, and home devices to name a few
Suitable scales, context and
influence on productivity of
automation and AI
- Automation and AI require a big investment and are mostly suited to high-volume production.
- They reduce the need for human labour.
- This reduces the incentive for companies to use offshore manufacturing in other (usually developing) countries where labour costs are lower.
- Use of AI and automation in manufacturing helps to decrease errors and therefore increase sales, decrease lost sales and reduce the workload of managers and workers.
- Use of AI in products can increase their safety and comfort
Robotics
-Speedy, accurate and safe
-Can be programmed to work long hours
-Completes repetitive tasks
- Removes laborious dangerous tasks from workers
- Perform processing activities (Welding, painting, material handling, assembly
and inspection.
- Can have different programs uploaded
- Versatile in manufacturing scales – Continuous production – low-volume production.
Suitable scales, context and influence on productivity of robotics
- Robotics require a big investment, but they are suitable for both high- and low-volume production lines.
- They allow procedures that were previously considered unsafe to be included in the construction of products.
- They reduce costs and improve the quality of products.
- Robots are extremely suitable for high-volume production of complex products such as cars.
- However, robots can also easily be programmed for smaller production batches, making them flexible and responsive to consumer demand
Laser Technology
-It’s used in one-off, low-volume and high-volume production.
- Speedy, more detail and complexity in design, accurate and precise
- Can cut through many layers at the same time
- Safer
- Can also take measurements of distance, levels, positions and speeds
- Textiles can also use lasers for embossing
Lasers are used in manufacturing for:
- cutting complex shapes and curves, and/or many layers at the same time, accurately and in a clean way, giving ultra-high-quality edges that reduce extra ‘finishing’ techniques required –
used in plastics, fabrics, timber and, less commonly (due to costs and the high power required), in metals - body scanning for measurements
- taking measurements of distances, levels, positions and speed
- surface treatments such as embossing, imprinting, engraving (to identify materials or brands or QR codes) or hardening metals
- drilling in tiny layers until the drill ‘hole’ breaks through – this can be done in metals, polymer and rubber
- detecting faults such as puckering of seams in clothing or irregular weave/prints of fabrics
- welding using low heat, used for tiny and/or thin materials, and welding remotely, which increases safety
- rapid prototyping – in additive manufacturing, laser accumulates the material layer by layer in a similar way to 3D printing, by sintering (heating) metal powder to produce metal components,
directly from CAD. This method of manufacturing also allows easy repair of parts.
