Hoffer Gusztáv 5hba 1997

The key issue weather for small and large institutions is to produce and design products „to order“ rather than „for stack“ to cut manufacturing costs and to stay in business in the future. Flexible manufacturing systems in this sense offers the fabrication facilities and techonologies for this concept. (This facilities may include testing, packaging, painting a. o.)

CIM is connected with a lot of likesome elements, but their information flow inbetween is not very clear, because CIM is connected with a lot of elements. The essence of CIM can be shown best with integration, though CIM was not designed for strict declarations. The CIM concept shows further the historically grown action areas of electronic data processing for each department.

Computer Integrated Manufacture is concerned with providing computer assistence, control and high level integrated automation at all levels of manufacturing (and other) industries, by linking islands of automation into a distributed processing system. The technology applied in CIM makes intensive use of distributed computer networks and data processing techniques, Artificial intelligence and Data Base Management Systems.

Computer Integrated Manufacturing covers all activities related to the manufacuring business, including:

♦ Evaluating and developing different product strategies.

♦ Analysing markets and generating forecasts.

♦ Analysing product/market characteristics and generating concepts of possible manufacturing systems.

♦ Evaluating manufacturing capacity, scheduling and control strategies relating to the design and fabrication processes involved in the particular product.

♦ Analysing and feeding back certain selected parameters relating to the manufacturing processes.

♦ Analysing and providing data at the appropriate level and time and in the appropriate format.

The diagramm shows the typical life cycle of almost every product. After a short introductory phase you find out wheather the product is going to be well-sold or not. If not, there is no need for the product, we say the product type has failed. With the help of publicity and promotion, the product gets into an increasing demand phase, the uncertainty of the customer has been overcome (überwunden). After this phase the product is acknowledged by the customer and accepted on the market. This phase lasts as long as the product is competitive on the market, which means it is modern or pretty enough. For example jeans enjoy this phase over decades. But nothing lasts forever. Sometimes the product gets into a declining phase. If we compare this to the automobile sector we find out the following: After a couple of years, the car is not up-to date, even if the car is addapted or facelifted. If there is no readiness for buying that car, the car gets into a declining phase. Of coarse spare parts must be produced for several years to come.

In order to achieve the maximum benefits of flexible automation, one needs to implement CIM.

Today in order to stay in business and prosper, manufacturing enterprises are seeking higher effectiveness and competitveness across the entire cycle of marketing, product design, manufacture, test and sales. An increasing number of them have chosen and are choosing various levels of CIM as a solution.

In comparison with FMS, CIM is mainly concerned with the information processing tasks at all levels of the factory and its management, including PPS, CAD, CAM, (CAP, CAQ) and the business data processing system, wheras FMS provides the essential computer controlled manufacturing tools and shop floor control systems for CIM to execute the computer generated plans and schedules that take account of a total system rather than just on cell or shop.

CIM faces these problems in production, but its no solution, which can be installed rapidly.

CIM is not to be understand as a new hard- or softwareproduct. Its a philosophy of integration of each informationflow in business and though a concept, to rationalizating information flows.

Within the Product Planing and Control System we understand the tasks of business and commercial work, including every kind of administrative activity, which is necessary to supervise and control production run. PPS covers the hole production process.

PPS is diveded in sub-groups as follows:

its the short cut for computer aided designing of construcion drawings and calculatings. The great goal of CAD is the accelerations of routine working methods.

describes the data processing support for technical control and supervising the operating data at the creation of the several objects in production. CAM covers the automatic making of parts, their automatic transport, and the automatic stock control.

describes the data processing support at the capacity planning (Arbeitsplanung?). The capacity planning sets up on the results of CAD or conventional designing of construction. We have to distinguish betwenn conventional production and NC production.

describes the engineered charge of Problems. CAE Systems are formly known since the beginning of electronic data processing, but today the aim is to lead to an interactive pre-processing, inclusive to make contact to CAD.

Within the CAQ the computer aided functions of quality assurance are summarized. It is a considerable motto of CIM. It means: „Quality has not to be proven, but produced!“. The main emphasis of CIM is the quality of each Product, which leaves the assembly line. This is because refused products (Ausschußprodukte?) lead to unnecessary expenses and furthermore to post-working processes, in some cases even to the hole new production of the part, respectivaly the article, as such. In contrast to conventional quality control, which only emits refused products, CAQ starts at the very beginning of the planing of the product. When the checking features and -plans are fixed, it has influence on the hole construction.

Quality has to do with the way we deal with other people, with clear definitions of work, direction(s) and expectations, and with understanding the demands that others have on our organisations, our products and our services.

First of all, CIM is, apart from every kind of advantage, a trendy implementation of todays business. The main reason of implementation is to reduce drop out rates and to increase quality standards.

The aim of CIM is to put the whole production into a global, firmcoverd computer network. CIM provides within the CAQ an outstanding quality management. This is because the CAQ rules over each department.

In CIM, quality control starts at the very beginning of the product manufacture. From the planing phase over the construction till the assembly line, quality assurance takes place in the hole production cycle.

As a consequence, the firm gets transparent through every area and the information flow among each section gets increased.

And last but not least, the customer is satisfied.