20EC755 OE- INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION

UNIT 1: Introduction
Automation in Production System, Principles and Strategies of Automation, Basic Elements of an
Automated System, Advanced Automation Functions, Levels of Automations. Production
Economics: Methods of Evaluating Investment Alternatives, Costs in Manufacturing, Break- Even
Analysis, Unit cost of production, Cost of Manufacturing Lead time and Work-in process.

The word manufacturing derives from two Latin words, manus (hand) and factus (make), so that
the combination means made by hand.
This was the way manufacturing was accomplished when the word first appeared in the
English language around 1567.
Commercial goods of those times were made by hand. The methods were handicraft,
accomplished in small shops, and the goods were relatively simple, at least by today’s standards. As
many years passed, factories came into being, with many workers at a single site, and the work had
to be organized using machines rather than handicraft techniques.
The products became more complex, and so did the processes to make them. Workers had
to special-ize in their tasks. Rather than overseeing the fabrication of the entire product, they were
responsible for only a small part of the total work.

Production Systems
A production system is a collection of people, equipment, and procedures organized to perform the
manufacturing operations of a company.
It consists of two major components as indicated in Figure below
Facilities. The physical facilities of the production system include the equipment, the way the
equipment is laid out, and the factory in which the equipment is located.

Manufacturing support systems. These are the procedures used by the company to manage
production and to solve the technical and logistics problems encountered in ordering materials,
moving the work through the factory, and ensuring that prod-ucts meet quality standards. Product
design and certain business functions are in-cluded in the manufacturing support systems.

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In modern manufacturing operations, portions of the production system are automated and/or
computerized. In addition, production systems include people. People make these systems work. In
general, direct labor people (blue-collar workers) are responsible for operating the facilities, and
professional staff people (white-collar workers) are responsible for the manufacturing support
systems.

Facilities
The facilities in the production system consist of the factory, production machines and tooling,
material handling equipment, inspection equipment, and computer systems that control the
manufacturing operations.
Facilities also include the plant layout, which is the way the equipment is physically
arranged in the factory. The equipment is usually organized into manufacturing systems, which
are the logical groupings of equipment and workers that accomplish the processing and assembly
operations on parts and products made by the factory.
Manufacturing systems can be individual work cells consisting of a single production
machine and a worker assigned to that machine. More complex manufacturing systems consist of
collections of machines and workers, for example, a production line. The manufacturing systems
come in direct physical contact with the parts and/or assemblies being made. They “touch” the
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product.

In terms of human participation in the processes performed by the manufacturing systems, three
basic categories can be distinguished, as portrayed in Figure below (a) manual work systems, (b)
worker-machine systems, and (c) automated systems.

table 1.1Relative Strengths and Attributes of Humans and Machines

Humans Machines

Perform repetitive tasks

Sense unexpected stimuli consistently
Develop new solutions to problems Store large amounts of data
Retrieve data from memory
Cope with abstract problems reliably
Adapt to change Perform multiple tasks
simultaneously
Generalize from observations Apply high forces and power
Learn from experience Perform simple computations
Quickly
Make decisions based on Make routine decisions quickly
incomplete data

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Automation in Production systems
Some components of the firm’s production system are likely to be automated, whereas
others will be operated manually or clerically.
The automated elements of the production system can be separated into two categories:
(1) automation of the manufacturing systems in the factory
(2) computerization of the manufacturing support systems.
In modern production systems, the two categories are closely related, because the auto-
mated manufacturing systems on the factory floor are themselves usually implemented by
computer systems that are integrated with the manufacturing support systems and
management information system operating at the plant and enterprise levels. The two
categories of automation are shown in Figure

Figure: Opportunities for automation and computerization in a production system.

[A] Automated Manufacturing systems in a factory

Automated manufacturing systems operate in the factory on the physical product. They
perform operations such as processing, assembly, inspection, and material handling, in
many cases accomplishing more than one of these operations in the same system. They are
called automated because they perform their operations with a reduced level of human
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participation compared with the corresponding manual process. In some highly automated
systems, there is virtually no human participation. Examples of automated manufacturing
systems include:
 Automated machine tools that process parts
 Transfer lines that perform a series of machining operations
 Automated assembly systems
 Manufacturing systems that use industrial robots to perform processing or
assembly operations
 Automatic material handling and storage systems to integrate manufacturing
operations
 Automatic inspection systems for quality control.
Types of Automation relative to production quantity and product variety.
Automated manufacturing systems can be classified into three basic types:
(1) fixed automation,
(2) programmable automation,
(3) flexible automation.
They generally operate as fully automated systems although semi-automated systems are
common in programmable automation. The relative positions of the three types of
automation for different production volumes and product varieties are depicted in Figure

Figure Three types of automation relative to production quantity and product variety.

Fixed automation.

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  Fixed automation is a system in which the sequence of processing (or assembly)
operations is fixed by the equipment configuration.
 Each operation in the sequence is usually simple, involving perhaps a plain linear or
rotational motion or an uncomplicated combination of the two, such as feeding a
rotating spindle.
 It is the integration and coordination of many such operations in one piece of
equipment that makes the system complex.
 Typical features of fixed automation are
(1) high initial investment for custom-engineered equipment
(2) high production rates
(3) inflexibility of the equipment to accommodate product variety.
 The economic justification for fixed automation is found in products that are made
in very large quantities and at high production rates.
 The high initial cost of the equipment can be spread over a very large number of
units, thus minimizing the unit cost relative to alternative methods of production.
Examples of fixed automation include machining transfer lines and automated
assembly machines.
Programmable automation.
 In programmable automation, the production equipment is designed with the
capability to change the sequence of operations to accommodate different product
configurations.
 The operation sequence is controlled by a program, which is a set of instructions
coded so that they can be read and interpreted by the system.
 New programs can be prepared and entered into the equipment to produce new
products. Some of the features that characterize programmable automation include
(1) High investment in general-purpose equipment
(2) Lower production rates than fixed automation
(3) Flexibility to deal with variations and changes in product configuration
(4) High suitability for batch production.
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 Programmable automated systems are used in low- and medium-volume

production.
 The parts or products are typically made in batches.
 To produce each new batch of a different item, the system must be reprogrammed
with the set of machine instructions that correspond to the new item.
 The physical setup of the machine must also be changed: Tools must be loaded,
fixtures must be attached to the machine table, and any required machine settings
must be entered.
 This changeover takes time. Consequently, the typical cycle for a given batch
includes a period during which the setup and reprogramming take place, followed
by a period in which the parts are produced.
Examples of programmable automation include numerically controlled (NC) machine
tools, industrial robots, and programmable logic controllers.

Flexible automation.
 Flexible automation is an extension of programmable automation.

 A flexible automated system is capable of producing a variety of parts or products

with virtually no time lost for changeovers from one design to the next.
 There is no lost production time while reprogramming the system and altering the
physical setup (tooling, fixtures, machine settings).
 Accordingly, the system can produce various mixes and schedules of parts or
products instead of requiring that they be made in batches.
 What makes flexible automation possible is that the differences between parts
processed by the system are not significant, so the amount of changeover between
designs is minimal.
 Features of flexible automation include
(1) high investment for a custom-engineered system

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 (2) continuous production of variable mixtures of parts or products
(3) medium production rates
(4) flexibility to deal with product design variations.
Examples of flexible automation are flexible manufacturing systems that perform
machining processes.

[B] Computerized Manufacturing support systems

 Automation of the manufacturing support systems is aimed at reducing the amount
of manual and clerical effort in product design, manufacturing planning and control,
and the business functions of the firm.
 Nearly all modern manufacturing support systems are implemented using
computers.
 Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) denotes the pervasive use of computer
systems to design the products, plan the production, control the operations, and
perform the various information-processing functions needed in a manufacturing
firm.
 Example:
1. Computer-aided design (CAD) supports the product design function.
2. Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) is used for functions related to
manufacturing engineering, such as process planning and numerical control part
programming.
 Some computer systems perform both CAD and CAM, and so the term CAD/CAM is
used to indicate the integration of the two into one system.
 Computer-integrated manufacturing involves the information-processing activities
that provide the data and knowledge required to successfully produce the product.
 These activities are accomplished to implement the four basic manufacturing
support functions identified earlier:
(1) Business functions
(2) Product design
(3) Manufacturing planning
(4) Manufacturing control.

Reasons for automating

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Companies undertake projects in automation and computer-integrated manufacturing for

good reasons, some of which are the following:
a. Increase labor productivity. Automating a manufacturing operation invariably in-
creases production rate and labor productivity. This means greater output per hour of
labor input.
b. Reduce labor cost. Increasing labor cost has been, and continues to be, the trend in
the world’s industrialized societies. Consequently, higher investment in automation has
become economically justifiable to replace manual operations. Machines are increasingly
being substituted for human labor to reduce unit product cost.
c. Mitigate the effects of labor shortages. There is a general shortage of labor in many
advanced nations, and this has stimulated the development of automated operations as a
substitute for labor.

d. Reduce or eliminate routine manual and clerical tasks. An argument can be put
forth that there is social value in automating operations that are routine, boring,
fatiguing, and possibly irksome. Automating such tasks improves the general level of
working conditions.
e. Improve worker safety. Automating a given operation and transferring the worker
from active participation in the process to a monitoring role, or removing the worker
from the operation altogether, makes the work safer. The safety and physical well-being
of the worker has become a national objective with the enactment of the Occupational
Safety and Health Act (OSHA) in 1970. This has provided an impetus for automation.
f. Improve product quality. Automation not only results in higher production rates than
manual operation, it also performs the manufacturing process with greater consistency
and conformity to quality specifications.
g. Reduce manufacturing lead time. Automation helps reduce the elapsed time be-
tween customer order and product delivery, providing a competitive advantage to the

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manufacturer for future orders. By reducing manufacturing lead time, the manufacturer
also reduces work-in-process inventory.
h. Avoid the high cost of not automating. There is a significant competitive advantage
gained in automating a manufacturing plant. The advantage cannot always be
demonstrated on a company’s project authorization form.

 The benefits of automation often show up in unexpected and intangible ways, such
as in improved quality, higher sales, better labor relations, and better company
image.
 Companies that do not automate are likely to find themselves at a competitive
disadvantage with their customers, their employees, and the general public.
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Manual Labor in Production Systems

 Even in a highly automated production system, humans are still a necessary
component of the manufacturing enterprise.
 For the foreseeable future, people will be required to man-age and maintain the plant,
even in those cases where they do not participate directly in its manufacturing
operations.
 The discussion of the labor issue is separated into two parts, corresponding to the
previous distinction between facilities and manufacturing support:
(1) manual labor in factory operations
(2) labor in manufacturing support systems.

Manual labor in Factory operations

 There is no denying that the long-term trend in manufacturing is toward greater use of
automated machines to substitute for manual labor.
 This has been true throughout human history, and there is every reason to believe the
trend will continue. It has been made possible by applying advances in technology to
factory operations.
 In parallel and sometimes in conflict with this technologically driven trend are issues
of economics that continue to find reasons for employing manual labor in
manufacturing.
 Certainly one of the current economic realities in the world is that there are countries
whose average hourly wage rates are so low that most automation projects are
difficult to justify strictly on the basis of cost reduction.
 These countries include China, India, Mexico, and many countries in Eastern Europe,
Southeast Asia, and Latin America.
 With the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the North
American continent has become one large labor pool. Within this pool, Mexico’s labor
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 rate is an order of magnitude less than that in the United States. U.S. corporate
executives who make decisions on factory locations and the outsourcing of work must
reckon with this reality.
 In addition to the labor cost issue, there are other reasons, ultimately based on
economics, that make the use of manual labor a feasible alternative to automation.
Humans possess certain attributes that give them an advantage over machines in
certain situations and certain kinds of tasks
 A number of situations can be listed in which manual labor is preferred over
automation:
A) Task is technologically too difficult to automate.
B) Short product life cycle.
C) Customized product.
D) Ups and downs in demand.
E) Need to reduce risk of product failure.
F) Lack of capital.
A. Task is technologically too difficult to automate.
Certain tasks are very difficult (either technologically or economically) to automate. Reasons
for the difficulty include
(1) problems with physical access to the work location
(2) adjustments required in the task
(3) manual dexterity requirements
(4) demands on hand–eye coordination.
Manual labor is used to perform the tasks in these cases. Examples include automobile final
assembly lines where many final trim operations are accomplished by human workers,
inspection tasks that require judgment to assess quality, and material handling tasks that
involve flexible or fragile materials.
B. Short product life cycle.
If a product must be designed and introduced in a short period of time to meet a near-term
window of opportunity in the marketplace, or if the product is anticipated to be on the market
for a relatively short period, then a manufacturing method designed around manual labor
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allows for a much sooner product launch than does an automated method. Tooling for manual
production can be fabricated in much less time and at much lower cost than comparable
automation tooling.

C. Customized product.
If the customer requires a one-of-a-kind item with unique features, manual labor has the
advantage as the appropriate production resource because of its versatility and adaptability.
Humans are more flexible than any auto-mated machine.
D. Ups and downs in demand.
 Changes in demand for a product necessitate changes in production output levels.
 Such changes are more easily made when manual labor is used as the means of
production.
 An automated manufacturing system has a fixed cost associated with its investment.
If output is reduced, that fixed cost must be spread over fewer units, driving up the
unit cost of the product. On the other hand, an automated system has an ultimate
upper limit on its output capacity.
 It cannot produce more than its rated capacity. By contrast, manual labor can be
added or reduced as needed to meet demand, and the associated cost of the resource
is in direct proportion to its employment.
 Manual labor can be used to augment the output of an existing automated system
during those periods when demand exceeds the capacity of the automated system.

E. Need to reduce risk of product failure.

 A company introducing a new product to the market never knows for sure what the
ultimate success of that product will be.
 Some products will have long life cycles, while others will be on the market for
relatively short periods.
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  The use of manual labor as the productive resource at the beginning of the product’s
life reduces the company’s risk of losing a significant investment in automation if
the product fails to achieve a long market life.
F. Lack of capital.
Companies are sometimes forced to use manual labor in their production operations
when they lack the capital to invest in automated equipment.

Labor in Manufacturing support systems

In manufacturing support functions, many of the routine manual and clerical tasks can be
automated using computer systems. Certain production planning activities are better
accomplished by computers than by clerks. Material requirements planning (MRP, Section
25.2) is an example. In material requirements planning, order releases are generated for
component parts and raw materials based on the master production schedule for final
products. This requires a massive amount of data processing that is best suited to computer
automation. Many commercial software packages are available to perform MRP. With few
exceptions, companies that use MRP rely on computers to perform the computations.
Humans are still required to interpret and implement the MRP output and to manage the
production planning function.
In modern production systems, the computer is used as an aid in performing virtually
all manufacturing support activities. Computer-aided design systems are used in product
design. The human designer is still required to do the creative work. The CAD system is a tool
that augments the designer’s creative talents. Computer-aided process planning systems are
used by manufacturing engineers to plan the production methods and routings. In these
examples, humans are integral components in the operation of the manufacturing support
functions, and the computer-aided systems are tools to increase productivity and improve
quality. CAD and CAM systems rarely operate completely in automatic mode.
Humans will continue to be needed in manufacturing support systems, even as the level of
automation in these systems increases. People will be needed to do the decision making,
learning, engineering, evaluating, managing, and other functions for which
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humans are much better suited than machines. Even if all of the manufacturing
systems in the factory are automated, there is still a need for the following kinds of work to be
performed by humans:
A. Equipment maintenance.
B. Programming and computer operation.
C. Engineering project work.
D. Plant management.
A. Equipment maintenance. Skilled technicians are required to maintain and repair the
automated systems in the factory when these systems break down. To improve the reli-ability
of the automated systems, preventive maintenance programs are implemented.
B. Programming and computer operation. There will be a continual demand to upgrade
software, install new versions of software packages, and execute the programs. It is
anticipated that much of the routine process planning, numerical control part programming,
and robot programming may be highly automated using artificial intelligence (AI) in the
future. But the AI programs must be developed and operated by people.
C. Engineering project work. The computer-automated and integrated factory is likely never
to be finished. There will be a continual need to upgrade production machines, design tooling,
solve technical problems, and undertake continuous improvement projects. These activities
require the skills of engineers working in the factory.
D.Plant management. Someone must be responsible for running the factory. There will be a
staff of professional managers and engineers who are responsible for plant operations. There
is likely to be an increased emphasis on managers’ technical skills compared with traditional
factory management positions, where the emphasis is on personnel skills.

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Automation Principles and Strategies
The preceding section leads one to conclude that automation is not always the right answer
for a given production situation.
A certain caution and respect must be observed in applying automation technologies.
Three approaches for dealing with automation projects:
(1) the USA Principle,
(2) Ten Strategies for Automation and Process Improvement
(3) an Automation Migration Strategy.

THE USA PRINCIPLE

The USA Principle is a commonsense approach to automation and process improvement
projects. Similar procedures have been suggested in the manufacturing and automation trade
literature, but none has a more captivating title than this one.
USA stands for
1. Understand the existing process,
2. Simplify the process
3. Automate the process.

Understand the existing process. The first step in the USA approach is to comprehend the
current process in all of its details.
 What are the inputs?
 What are the outputs?
 What exactly happens to the work unit between input and output?
 What is the function of the process?
 How does it add value to the product?
 What are the upstream and downstream operations in the production sequence, and
can they be combined with the process under consideration?
Mathematical models of the process may also be useful to indicate relationships between
input parameters and output variables. What are the important output variables? How are
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these output variables affected by inputs to the process, such as raw material properties,
process settings, operating parameters, and environmental conditions?
This information may be valuable in identifying what output variables need to be
measured for feedback purposes and in formulating algorithms for automatic process control.

Simplify the process.

 Once the existing process is understood, then the search begins for ways to simplify.
 This often involves a checklist of questions about the existing process.
 What is the purpose of this step or this transport? Is the step necessary?
 Can it be eliminated?
 Does it use the most appropriate technology?
 How can it be simplified?
 Are there unnecessary steps in the process that might be eliminated without
detracting from function?
Automate the process.
 Once the process has been reduced to its simplest form, then automation can be
considered.
 The possible forms of automation include those listed in the ten strategies
 An automation migration strategy might be implemented for a new product that has
not yet proven itself.
Ten strategies for automation and process Improvement
Applying the USA Principle is a good approach in any automation project. As suggested
previously, it may turn out that automation of the process is unnecessary or cannot be cost
justified after the process has been simplified.
If automation seems a feasible solution to improving productivity, quality, or other
measure of performance, then the following ten strategies provide a road map to search for
these improvements.
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The work unit is the part or product being processed or assembled are referred to as
strategies for automation and process improvement because some of them are applicable
whether the process is a candidate for automation or just for simplification.
1. Specialization of operations. The first strategy involves the use of special-purpose
equipment designed to perform one operation with the greatest possible efficiency.
This is analogous to the specialization of labor, which is employed to improve labor
productivity.
2. Combined operations. Production occurs as a sequence of operations. Complex parts
may require dozens or even hundreds of processing steps. The strategy of combined
operations involves reducing the number of distinct production machines or
workstations through which the part must be routed. This is accomplished by
performing more than one operation at a given machine, thereby reducing the number
of separate machines needed. Since each machine typically involves a setup, setup time
can usually be saved by this strategy. Material handling effort, nonoperation time,
waiting time, and manufacturing lead time are all reduced.
3. Simultaneous operations. A logical extension of the combined operations strategy is
to simultaneously perform the operations that are combined at one workstation. In
effect, two or more processing (or assembly) operations are being performed
simultaneously on the same work part, thus reducing total processing time.
4. Integration of operations. This strategy involves linking several workstations together
into a single integrated mechanism, using automated work handling devices to transfer
parts between stations. In effect, this reduces the number of separate work centers
through which the product must be scheduled. With more than one workstation, several
parts can be processed simultaneously, thereby increasing the overall output of the
system.
5. Increased flexibility. This strategy attempts to achieve maximum utilization of
equipment for job shop and medium-volume situations by using the same equipment for a
variety of parts or products. It involves the use of programmable or flexible automation
Prime objectives are to reduce setup time and programming time for the production
machine. This normally translates into lower manufacturing lead time and less work-in-
process.
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6.Improved material handling and storage. A great opportunity for reducing non-
productive time exists in the use of automated material handling and storage sys-tems.
Typical benefits include reduced work-in-process, shorter manufacturing lead times, and
lower labor costs.
7. On-line inspection. Inspection for quality of work is traditionally performed after the
process is completed. This means that any poor-quality product has already been
produced by the time it is inspected. Incorporating inspection into the manufacturing
process permits corrections to the process as the product is being made. This reduces
scrap and brings the overall quality of the product closer to the nominal specifications
intended by the designer.
8.Process control and optimization. This includes a wide range of control schemes
intended to operate the individual processes and associated equipment more ef-ficiently.
By this strategy, the individual process times can be reduced and product quality can be
improved.
9. Plant operations control. Whereas the previous strategy is concerned with the con-trol
of individual manufacturing processes, this strategy is concerned with control at the plant
level. It attempts to manage and coordinate the aggregate operations in the plant more
efficiently. Its implementation involves a high level of computer networking within the
factory.
10.Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM). Taking the previous strategy one level
higher, CIM involves extensive use of computer systems, databases, and networks
throughout the enterprise to integrate the factory operations and business functions.

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Automation Migration strategy

Owing to competitive pressures in the marketplace, a company often needs to introduce a

new product in the shortest possible time
The tooling for a manual method can be fabricated quickly and at low cost. If more
than a single set of workstations is required to make the product in sufficient quantities, as is
often the case, then the manual cell is replicated as many times as needed to meet demand.
If the product turns out to be successful, and high future demand is anticipated, then it
makes sense for the company to automate production.
The improvements are often carried out in phases. Many companies have an
automation migration strategy, that is, a formalized plan for evolving the manufacturing
systems used to produce new products as demand grows.

A typical automation migration strategy is the following:

Phase 1: Manual production using single-station manned cells operating independently. This
is used for introduction of the new product for reasons al-ready mentioned: quick and low-
cost tooling to get started.

Phase 2: Automated production using single-station automated cells operating independently.

As demand for the product grows, and it becomes clear that automation can be justified, then
the single stations are automated to reduce labor and increase production rate. Work units
are still moved between workstations manually.

Phase 3: Automated integrated production using a multi-station automated sys-tem with

serial operations and automated transfer of work units between stations. When the company
is certain that the product will be produced in mass quantities and for several years, then
integration of the single-station automated cells is warranted to further reduce labor and
increase production rate.
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This strategy is illustrated in Figure below. Details of the automation migration strategy vary
from company to company, depending on the types of products they make and the
manufacturing processes they perform. But well-managed manufacturing companies

Figure: typical automation migration strategy. Phase 1: manual production with single
independent workstations. Phase 2: automated production stations with manual handling
between stations. Phase 3: automated integrated production with automated handling
between stations

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Basic elements of an automated system
An automated system consists of three basic elements:
(1) power to accomplish the process and operate the system,
(2) a program of instructions to direct the process, and
(3) a control system to actuate the instructions.

The relationship among these elements is illustrated in Figure All systems that qualify as being
automated include these three basic elements in one form or another. They are present in the three
basic types of auto-mated manufacturing systems: fixed automation, programmable automation, and
flexible automation

Power to accomplish the automated process

An automated system is used to operate some process, and power is required to drive the process as
well as the controls. The principal source of power in automated systems is electricity. Electric power
has many advantages in automated as well as non-automated processes:
Electric power is widely available at moderate cost. It is an important part of
the industrial infrastructure. Electric power can be readily converted to alternative energy forms:
mechanical, thermal, light, acoustic, hydraulic, and pneumatic.
Electric power at low levels can be used to accomplish functions such as signal
transmission, information processing, and data storage and communication. Electric energy can be
stored in long-life batteries for use in locations where an external source of electrical power is not
conveniently available.
Alternative power sources include fossil fuels, atomic, solar, water, and wind.
However, their exclusive use is rare in automated systems. In many cases when alternative power
sources are used to drive the process itself, electrical power is used for the controls that automate the
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operation. For example, in casting or heat treatment, the furnace may be heated by fossil fuels, but the
control system to regulate temperature and time cycle is electrical. In other cases, the energy from
these alternative sources is converted to electric power to operate both the process and its
automation. When solar energy is used as a power source for an automated system, it is generally
converted in this way.
Power for the process. In production, the term process refers to the manu-facturing operation that is
performed on a work unit. manufacturing processes is compiled along with the form of power
required and the re-sulting action on the work unit. Most of the power in manufacturing plants is
consumed by these kinds of operations. The “power form” indicated in the middle column of the table
refers to the energy that is applied directly to the process. As indicated earlier, the power source for
each operation is often converted from electricity.

Power for automation. Above and beyond the basic power requirements for the manufacturing
operation, additional power is required for automation. The additional power is used for the following
functions:

Controller unit. Modern industrial controllers are based on digital computers, which require electrical
power to read the program of instructions, perform the control calculations, and execute the
instructions by transmitting the proper commands to actuating devices.

Power to actuate the control signals. The commands sent by the controller unit are carried out by
means of electromechanical devices, such as switches and motors, called actuators (Section 6.2). The
commands are generally transmitted by means of low-voltage control signals. To accomplish the
commands, the actuators require more power, and so the control signals must be amplified to provide
the proper power level for the actuating device.

Data acquisition and information processing. In most control systems, data must be collected from the
process and used as input to the control algorithms. In addition, for some processes, it is a legal
requirement that records be kept of process performance and/or product quality. These data
acquisition and record-keeping functions require power, although in modest amounts.

Rohith M N, Dept of ECE, Page | 59

Program of Instructions

The actions performed by an automated process are defined by a program of instructions. Whether
the manufacturing operation involves low, medium, or high production, each part or product requires
one or more processing steps that are unique to that part or product. These processing steps are
performed during a work cycle. A new part is completed at the end of each work cycle (in some
manufacturing operations, more than one part is produced during the work cycle: for example, a
plastic injection molding operation may produce mul-tiple parts each cycle using a multiple cavity
mold).

Work Cycle programs. In the simplest automated processes, the work cycle con-sists of essentially
one step, which is to maintain a single process parameter at a defined level, for example, maintain the
temperature of a furnace at a designated value for the du-ration of a heat-treatment cycle. (It is
assumed that loading and unloading of the work units into and from the furnace is performed
manually and is therefore not part of the automatic cycle, so technically this is not a fully automated
process.) In this case, programming simply involves setting the temperature dial on the furnace. This
type of program is set-point control, in which the set point is the value of the process parameter or
desired value of the con-trolled variable in the process (furnace temperature in this example). A
process parameter is an input to the process, such as the temperature dial setting, whereas a process
variable

Levels of Automation:
Two levels of automation can be identified:

 semiautomated

 fully automated.
A semiautomated machine performs a portion of the work cycle under some form of
program control, and a human worker tends to the machine for the remainder of the cycle,
by loading and unloading it, or by performing some other task each cycle.
A fully automated machine is distinguished from its semiautomated counterpart by its
capacity to operate for an extended period of time with no human attention. Extended
period of time means longer than one work cycle; a worker is not required to be present
during each cycle. Instead, the worker may need to tend the machine every tenth cycle, or
every hundredth cycle. An example of this type of operation is found in many injection
molding plants, where the molding machines run on automatic cycles, but periodically the
 INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION (20EC755)

molded parts at the machine must be collected by a worker.

Automated systems can be applied to various levels of factory operations. One normally associates
automation with the individual production machines.
A modern CNC machine tool is a highly automated system that is composed of multiple control
systems. Any CNC machine has at least two axes of motion, and some machines have more than five
axes. Each of these axes operates as a positioning system and is, in effect, an automated system.
Similarly, a CNC machine is often part of a larger manufacturing system, and the larger system
may be automated. For example, two or three machine tools may be connected by an automated part
handling system operating under computer control.
The machine tools also receive instructions (e.g., part programs) from the computer. Thus
three levels of automation and control are included here (the positioning system level, the machine
tool level, and the manufacturing system level). For the purposes of this text, five levels of automation
can be identified, and their hierarchy is depicted in Figure.

Rohith M N, Dept of ECE, Page | 61

Device level. This is the lowest level in the automation hierarchy. It includes the actua-tors, sensors,
and other hardware components that comprise the machine level. The devices are combined into the
individual control loops of the machine, for example, the feedback control loop for one axis of a CNC
machine or one joint of an industrial robot.
Machine level. Hardware at the device level is assembled into individual machines. Examples include
CNC machine tools and similar production equipment, industrial robots, powered conveyors, and
automated guided vehicles. Control functions at this level include performing the sequence of steps in
the program of instructions in the correct order and making sure that each step is properly executed.
Cell or system level. This is the manufacturing cell or system level, which operates under instructions
from the plant level. A manufacturing cell or system is a group of machines or workstations connected
and supported by a material handling sys-tem, computer, and other equipment appropriate to the
manufacturing process. Production lines are included in this level. Functions include part dispatching
and machine loading, coordination among machines and material handling system, and collecting and
evaluating inspection data.
Plant level. This is the factory or production systems level. It receives instructions from the corporate
information system and translates them into operational plans for pro-duction. Likely functions
include order processing, process planning, inventory control, purchasing, material requirements
planning, shop floor control, and quality control.
 INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION (20EC755)

Enterprise level. This is the highest level, consisting of the corporate information system. It is
concerned with all of the functions necessary to manage the company: marketing and sales,
accounting, design, research, aggregate planning, and master production scheduling.

Advanced automation functions

Advanced automation functions include the following:

(1) safety monitoring,

(2) maintenance and repair diagnostics,

(3) error detection and recovery.
Advanced automation functions are made possible by special subroutines included in the program of
instructions. In some cases, the functions provide information only and do not involve any physical
actions by the control system, for example, reporting a list of preventive maintenance tasks that
should be accomplished. Any actions taken on the basis of this report are decided by the human
operators and managers of the system and not by the system itself. In other cases, the program of
instructions must be physically executed by the control system using available actuators. A simple
example of this case is a safety monitoring system that sounds an alarm when a human worker gets
dangerously close to the automated equipment.

Safety Monitoring

One of the significant reasons for automating a manufacturing operation is to remove workers from a
hazardous working environment.
An automated system is often installed to perform a potentially dangerous operation that
would otherwise be accomplished manually by human workers. However, even in automated systems,
workers are still needed to service the system, at periodic intervals if not full time.
Accordingly, it is important that the automated system be designed to operate safely when
workers are in attendance. In addition, it is essential that the automated system carry out its process
in a way that is not self-destructive.

Rohith M N, Dept of ECE, Page | 63

 Thus, there are two reasons for providing an automated system with a safety monitoring
capability: (1) to protect human workers in the vicinity of the system, and
(2) to protect the equipment comprising the system.

Maintenance and repair Diagnostics

Modern automated production systems are becoming increasingly complex and sophisticated,
complicating the problem of maintaining and repairing them. Maintenance and repair diagnostics
refers to the capabilities of an automated system to assist in identifying the source of potential or
actual malfunctions and failures of the system. Three modes of operation are typical of a modern
maintenance and repair diagnostics subsystem:

Status monitoring. In the status monitoring mode, the diagnostic subsystem monitors and records the
status of key sensors and parameters of the system during normal oper-ation. On request, the
diagnostics subsystem can display any of these values and provide an interpretation of current system
status, perhaps warning of an imminent failure.

Failure diagnostics. The failure diagnostics mode is invoked when a malfunction or fail-ure occurs. Its
purpose is to interpret the current values of the monitored variables and to analyze the recorded
values preceding the failure so that its cause can be identified.

Recommendation of repair procedure. In the third mode of operation, the subsys-tem recommends to
the repair crew the steps that should be taken to effect repairs. Methods for developing the
recommendations are sometimes based on the use of expert systems in which the collective
judgments of many repair experts are pooled and incorporated into a computer program that uses
artificial intelligence techniques.

Status monitoring serves two important functions in machine diagnostics: (1) pro-viding information
for diagnosing a current failure and (2) providing data to predict a future malfunction or failure. First,
when a failure of the equipment has occurred, it is usually difficult for the repair crew to determine
the reason for the failure and what steps should be taken to make repairs. It is often helpful to
reconstruct the events leading up to the failure.

The computer is programmed to monitor and record the variables and to draw logical
 INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION (20EC755)

inferences from their values about the reason for the malfunction. This diag-nosis helps the repair
personnel make the necessary repairs and replace the appropriate components. This is especially
helpful in electronic repairs where it is often difficult to determine on the basis of visual inspection
which components have failed.

The second function of status monitoring is to identify signs of an impending failure, so that
the affected components can be replaced before failure actually causes the system to go down. These
part replacements can be made during the night shift or another time when the process is not
operating, so the system experiences no loss of regular operation.

Error Detection and recovery

In the operation of any automated system, there are hardware malfunctions and unex-pected events.
These events can result in costly delays and loss of production until the problem has been corrected
and regular operation is restored. Traditionally, equipment malfunctions are corrected by human
workers, perhaps with the aid of a maintenance and repair diagnostics subroutine.

With the increased use of computer control for manufac-turing processes, there is a trend
toward using the control computer not only to diagnose the malfunctions but also to automatically
take the necessary corrective action to restore the system to normal operation. The term error
detection and recovery is used when the computer performs these functions.

Error Detection. The error detection step uses the automated system’s available sensors to
determine when a deviation or malfunction has occurred, interpret the sensor signal(s), and classify
the error. Design of the error detection subsystem must begin with a systematic enumeration of all
possible errors that can occur during system operation. The errors in a manufacturing process tend to
be very application-specific. They must be anticipated in advance in order to select sensors that will
enable their detection.

Rohith M N, Dept of ECE, Page | 65

 Manufacturing Metricsand Economics
Manufacturing metrics can be divided into two basic categories:
(1) production performance measures
(2) manufacturing costs.

Metrics that indicate production performance include production rate, plant

capacity, equipment availability (a reliability measure), and manufacturing lead time.
Manufacturing costs that are important to a company include labor and material costs,
overhead costs, the cost of operating a given piece of equipment, and unit part and product
costs.
PRODUCTION PERFORMANCE METRICS
The logical starting point is the cycle time for a unit operation, from which the
production rate for the operation is derived
These unit operation metrics can be used to develop measures of performance at the
factory level: production capacity, utilization, manufacturing lead time, and work-in-
process.

Cycle Time and Production Rate

Unit operations are usually performed by production machines that are tended by
workers, either full time or periodically in the case of automated equipment.
In flow-line production (e.g., production lines), unit operations are performed at the
workstations that comprise the line.

Cycle Time Analysis.

For a unit operation, the cycle time Tc is the time that one work unit spends being
processed or assembled.
It is the time interval between when one work unit begins processing (or assembly)
and when the next unit begins.
Tc is the time an individual part spends at the machine, but not all of this is
processing time. In a typical processing operation, such as machining,
Tc consists of (1) actual processing time,
(2) work part handling time
(3) tool handling time per work piece.
 INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION (20EC755)

As an equation, this can be expressed as:

Tc = To + Th + Tt (3.1)

where Tc = cycle time, min/pc;

To = time of the actual processing or assembly operation, min/pc;

Th = handling time, min/pc; and

Tt = average tool handling time, min/pc,

Production Rate. The production rate for a unit production operation is usually expressed as
an hourly rate, that is, work units completed per hour 1pc/hr2.
Consider how the production rate is determined based on the operation cycle time for
the three types of production:
 job shop production
 batch production
 mass production

Types of production operations: (a) job shop with production quantity Q = 1,

(b) sequential batch production, (c) simultaneous batch production, (d) quantity
mass production, and (e) flow-line mass production. Key: Proc = process.

Rohith M N, Dept of ECE, Page | 67

In job shop production, quantities are low (1 … Q … 100). At the extreme low end of the range,
when quantity Q = 1, the production time per work unit is the sum of setup and cycle times:

Tp = Tsu + Tc

where Tp = average production time, min/pc;

Tsu = setup time to prepare the machine toproduce the part, min/pc; and

Tc = cycle time

The production rate for the unit operation is simply the reciprocal of production time, usually
expressed as anhourly rate:

where Rp = hourly production rate, pc/hr;

Tp = production time

and the constant 60 converts minutes to hours.

When the production quantity is greater than one, the analysis is the same as in batch
production.

In sequential batch processing, the time to process one batch consisting of Q work units is
the sum of the setup time and processing time, where the processing time is the batch
quantity multiplied by the cycle time; that is,

Tb = Tsu + QTc
where Tb = batch processing time, min/batch;
Tsu = setup time to prepare the machine for the batch, min/batch;
Q = batch quantity, pc/batch; and
Tc = cycle time per work unit, min/cycle.
If one work unit is completed each cycle, then Tc has units of min/pc.

In simultaneous batch processing, the time to process a batch consisting of Q work units is
the sum of the setup time and processing time, where the processing time is the time to
 INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION (20EC755)

simultaneously process all of the parts in the batch; that is,

Tb = Tsu + Tc

where Tb = batch processing time, min/batch;

Tsu = setup time, min/batch;

Tc = cycle time per batch, min/cycle.

For quantity-type mass production, the production rate equals the cycle rate of the
machine (reciprocal of operation cycle time) after production is underway and the effects of
setup time become insignificant. That is, as Q becomes very large, 1Tsu>Q2 S 0 and

Rp S Rc = 60
Tc

where Rc = operation cycle rate of the machine, pc/hr,

Tc = operation cycle time, min/pc.

For flow-line mass production, the production rate approximates the cycle rate of the
production line, again neglecting setup time.
The term bottleneck station is sometimes used to refer to this station. Also included in
the cycle time is the time to move parts from one station to the next at the end of each
operation.
In many production lines, all work units on the line are moved synchronously, each
to its respective next station.
Taking these factors into account, the cycle time of a production line is the longest
processing (or assembly) time plus the time to transfer work units between stations. This
can be expressed as

Tc = Max To + Tr

where Tc = cycle time of the production line, min/cycle;

Max To = the operation timeat the bottleneck station (the maximum of the operation

Rohith M N, Dept of ECE, Page | 69

times for all stations on the line, min/cycle); and

Tr = time to transfer work units between stations each cycle, min/cycle. Tr is analogous to Th
Equipment Reliability. Lost production time due to equipment reliability problems reduces
the production rates determined by the previous equations.
The most useful measure of reliability is availability, defined as the uptime
proportion of the equipment; that is, the proportion of time that the equipment is capable of
operating (not broken down) relative to the scheduled hours of production. The measure is
especially appropriate for automated production equipment.

Availability can also be defined using two other reliability terms, mean time between failures
(MTBF) and mean time to repair (MTTR). MTBF is the average length of time the piece of
equipment runs between breakdowns, and MTTR is the average time required to service the
equipment and put it back into operation when abreakdown occurs. In equation form,

MTBF - MTTR
A =
(3.9)
MTBF

where A = availability (proportion); MTBF = mean time between failures, hr; and MTTR =
mean time to repair, hr. The mean time to repair may include waiting time of the broken-
down equipment before repairs begin.
Availability is typically expressed as a percentage.

When a piece of equipment is brand new (and being debugged), and later when it
begins to age, its availability tends to be lower.
Taking availability into account, the actual average production rate of the equipment
is its availability multiplied by Rp from any of the preceding production rate equations (i.e.,
average production rate = ARp), based on the assumption that setup time is also affected by
the availability.
Reliability is particularly bothersome in the operation of automated production
lines. This is because of the interdependence of workstations in an automated line, in which
the entire line is forced to stop when one station breaks down.
The actual average production rate Rp is reduced to a value that is often substantially
below the ideal Rc.

Production Capacity and Utilization

It is defined as the maximum rate of output that a production facility (or production line, or
group of machines) is able to produce under a given set of assumed operating conditions.
The production facility usually refers to a plant or factory, and so the term plant
capacity is often used for this measure.
One might say that plant capacity is to the aggregate plant operation as production
rate is to the unit operation.
The assumed operating conditions refer to the number of shifts per day (one, two, or
three), number of days in the week that the plant operates, employment levels, and so forth.
The number of hours of plant operation per week is a critical issue in defining plant
capacity. For continuous chemical production in which the reactions occur at elevated
temperatures, the plant is usually operated 24 hours per day, seven days per week
(168 hours per week). On the other hand, many discrete product plants operate one shift per
day, five days per week.
For an automobile final assembly plant, capacity is typically defined as one or two
shifts, depending on the demand for the cars made in the plant.In situations when demand
is very high, three production shifts may be used. A trend in manufacturing is to define plant
capacity for the full 7-day week, 24 hours per day. This is the maximum time available, and if
the plant operates fewer hours, then it is operating atless than its full capacity.
Rohith M N, Dept of ECE, Page | 71
Determining Plant Capacity. Quantitative measures of plant capacity can be developed based
on the production rate models derived earlier.
Let PC = the production capacity of a given facility, where the measure of capacity is the
number of units produced per time period (e.g., week, month, year).
The simplest case is where there are n production machines in the plant and they all
produce the same part or product, which implies quality type mass production. Each
machine is capable of producing at the same rate ofRp units per hour. Each machine operates
for the number of hours in the period. These parameters can be combined to calculate the
weekly production capacity of the facility,

PC = nHpcRp

where PC = production capacity, pc/period; n = number of machines; and Hpc = thenumber

of hours in the period being used to measure production capacity (or plant capacity).

TABLE Number of Hours of Plant Operation for Various Periods and Operating Conditions.

Perio
d

Operating Conditions Wee Mont Year

k h
One 8-hr shift, 5 days/week, 50 weeks/year 40 167 2000
Two 8-hr shifts, 5 days/week, 50 weeks/year 80 333 4000
Three 8-hr shifts, 5 days/week, 50 weeks/year 120 500 6000
One 8-hr shift, 7 days/week, 50 weeks/year 56 233 2800
Two 8-hr shifts, 7 days/week, 50 weeks/year 112 467 5600
Three 8-hr shifts, 7 days/week, 50 weeks/year 168 700 8400
24 hr/day, 7 days/week, 52 weeks/year (24/7) 168 728 8736

lists the number of hours of plant operation for various periods and operating conditions.
Consistent with the definition of production capacity given earlier,

assume that all machines are operating full time during the entire period defined by Hpc.
Manufacturing Lead Time and Work-In-Process
In the competitive environment of global commerce, the ability of a manufacturing firm to
deliver a product to the customer in the shortest possible time often wins the order. This
section examines this performance measure, called manufacturing lead time (MLT). Closely
correlated with MLT is the amount of inventory located in the plant as partially completed
product, called work-in-process (WIP). When there is too much work-in- process,
manufacturing lead time tends to be long.

Manufacturing Lead Time.MLT is defined as the total time required to process a given part or
product through the plant, including any time due to delays, parts being moved between
operations, time spent in queues, and so on.
Thus, production activities can be divided into two categories,
Unit operations
Nonoperation times.
Some of the reasons why nonoperation time occurs between unit operations are the
following:
(1) time spent transporting batches of parts between operations,
(2) buildup of queues of parts waiting before each operation,
(3) buildup of queues of parts after each operation waiting to be transported to the
next operation
(4) less than optimal scheduling of batches,
(5) part inspections before and/or after unit operations,
(6) equipment breakdowns resulting in lost production time
(7) workload imbalances among the machines that perform the operations required for
a given part or product style, with some machines being 100% utilized while others spend
much of thetime waiting for work.

Rohith M N, Dept of ECE, Page | 73

Let Tc = the operation cycle time at a given machine, and Tno = the nonoperation time
associated with each operation.
Further, suppose that the number of separate opera tions (machines) through which
the work unit must be routed = no.
In batch production, there are Q work units in the batch. A setup is generally required to
prepare each machinefor the particular product, which requires a time = Tsu.

Given these terms, manufacturing lead time for a given batch is defined as

where MLTj = manufacturing lead time for a batch of part or product j, min;

Tsuij = setuptime for operation i on part or product j, min;

Qj = quantity of part or product j in the batch being processed, pc;

Tcij = cycle time for operation i on part or product j, min/pc;

Tnoij = nonoperation time associated with operation i, min; and i indicates the operation
sequence in the processing, i = 1, 2, c , noj.

MANUFACTURING COSTS
Decisions on automation and production systems are usually based on the relative
costs of alternatives.

Fixed and Variable Costs

Manufacturing costs can be classified into two major categories: (1) fixed costs and
(2) variable costs.
A fixed cost is one that remains constant for any level of production output.
Examples include the cost of the factory building and production equipment, insurance,
and property taxes. All of the fixed costs can be expressed as annual amounts.
Expenses such as insurance and property taxes occur naturally as annual costs.
Capital investments such as building and equipment can be converted to their equivalent
uniform annual costs using interest rate factors.
A variable cost is one that varies in proportion to production output. As output in- creases,
variable cost increases.
Examples include direct labor, raw materials, and electric power to operate the production
equipment.
The ideal concept of variable cost is that itis directly proportional to output level.

Adding fixed and variable costs results in the following total cost equation:
TC = Cf + CvQ (3.25)
where TC = total annual cost, $/yr;
Cf = fixed annual cost, $/yr;
Cv = variable cost, $/pc;
Q = annual quantity produced, pc/yr.

When comparing automated and manual production methods, it is typical that the fixed cost
of the automated method is high relative to the manual method, and the variable cost of
automation is low relative to the manual method.
Example:

Rohith M N, Dept of ECE, Page | 75

Comment: It is of interest to note that the manual method operating one shift (8 hr), 250
days per year would produce 8(250)(10) = 20,000 pc/yr, which is less than the break-even
quantity of 37,879 pc. On the other hand, the automated method, operating under the same
conditions, would produce8(250)(25) = 50,000 pc, well above the break-even point.

Direct Labor, Material, and Overhead

Fixed versus variable are not the only possible classifications of costs in manufacturing.
Analternative classification separates costs into
(1) direct labor,
(2) material
(3) overhead.

This is often a more convenient way to analyze costs in production.

Direct labor cost is the sum of the wages and benefits paid to the workers who operate the
production equipmentand perform the processing and assembly tasks.
Material cost is the cost of all raw materials used to make the product. In the case of a
stamping plant, the raw material consists of sheet stock used to make stampings.
For the rolling mill that made the sheet stock, the raw material is the starting slab of
metal out of which the sheet is rolled. In the case of an assembled product, materials are the
component parts, some of which are produced by supplier firms.
Thus, the definition of “raw material” depends on the company and the type of
production operations in which it is engaged.
The final product of one company can be the raw material for another company. In
terms of fixed and variable costs, direct labor and material must be considered as variable
costs.
Overhead costs are all of the other expenses associated with running the manufacturing firm.
Overhead divides into two categories:
(1) factory overhead
(2) corporate overhead.
Factory overhead consists of the costs of operating the factory other than direct labor and
materials, such as the factory expenses
Factory overhead is treated as fixed cost, although some of the items in the list
could be correlated with the output level of the plant.
Corporate overhead is the cost not related to the company’s manufacturing activities, such
as the corporate expenses

Many companies operate more than one factory, and this is one of the reasons for dividing
overhead into factory and corporate categories. Different factories may have significantly
different factory overhead expenses.

Overhead costs can be allocated according to a number of different bases, including direct labor
cost, material cost, direct labor hours, and space. Most common in industry is direct labor
cost, which will be used here to illustrate how overheads are allocated and subsequently
used to compute factors such as selling price of the product.

Fig: Breakdown of costs for a manufactured product

Rohith M N, Dept of ECE, Page | 77

The allocation procedure (simplified) is as follows. For the most recent year (or several
recent years), all costs are compiled and classified into four categories:
(1) direct labor, (2) material, (3) factory overhead, and (4) corporate
overhead.

The objective is to determine an overhead rate that can be used in the following year to
allocate overhead costs to a process or product as a function of the direct labor costs
associated with that process or product. Separate overhead rates will be developed for
factory and corporate overheads.

The factory overhead rate is calculated as the ratio of factory overhead expenses
(category 3) to direct labor expenses (category 1);that is,

FOHC
FOHR =
DLC

where FOHR = factory overhead rate, FOHC = annual factory overhead

costs, $/yr;and DLC = annual direct labor costs, $/yr.

The corporate overhead rate is the ratio of corporate overhead expenses (category4) to
direct labor expenses:

COHC
COHR =
DLC

where COHR = corporate overhead rate, COHC = annual corporate

overhead costs,
$/yr; and DLC = annual direct labor costs, $/yr.

Both rates are often expressed as percent ages. If material cost were used as the allocation
basis, then material cost would be used as the denominator in both ratios. The following two
examples are presented to illustrate (1)how overhead rates are determined and (2) how they
are used to estimate manufacturingcost and establish selling price.
Rohith M N, Dept of ECE, Page | 79
Cost of Equipment Usage

The trouble with overhead rates as they have been developed here is that they are based on
labor cost alone. A machine operator who runs an old, small engine lathe whose bookvalue is
zero will be costed at the same overhead rate as an operator running a new auto-mated lathe
just purchased for $500,000. Obviously, the time on the machining center ismore productive
and should be valued at a higher rate. If differences in rates of different production machines
are not recognized, manufacturing costs will not be accurately measured by the overhead rate
structure.

To deal with this difficulty, it is appropriate to divide the cost of a worker running a machine
into two components: (1) direct labor cost and (2) machine cost. Associated with each is an
applicable overhead rate.
These overhead costs apply not to the entire factoryoperations, but to individual machines.

Cost of a Manufactured Part

The unit cost of a manufactured part or product is the sum of the production cost, mate- rial
cost, and tooling cost

The unit production cost for each unit operation in the sequence of operations to produce
the part orproduct is given by:

CoiTpi + Cti

where Coi = cost rate to perform unit operation i, $/min,);

Tpi = production time of operation i, min/pc,

and Cti = cost of any tooling used in operation i, $/pc.

Tooling cost is a material cost, whereas tool handling is a time cost at the cost rate of the
machine, Coi.
the total unit cost of the part is the sum of the costs of all unit operations plus the cost of raw
materials. Summarizing,
 where Cpc = cost per piece, $/pc;

Cm = cost of starting material, $/pc; and the summation includes all of the
costs of the no unit operations in the sequence.

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