3. Reconfigurable systems in manufacturing

3.1 Evolution of manufacturing systems

Manufacturing production systems underwent their first evolution when production capacity had to be increased. We have thus moved from systems with low-volume, high-variety machines, requiring a high level of human involvement, to dedicated production lines with high capacity, but low product variety (often a single product type, such as DML). The cost/performance trade-off in such systems is ensured by pre-planned and optimized control.

• Flexible production concept

  Introduced in the 1980s to respond more quickly to changes in demand (products), new production technologies and markets. Flexible Manufacturing Systems" (FMS) were developed to respond to production volumes and...