421 Business Issues Robots in Flexible Manufacturing Systems Nourredme Boubekn Hensel Apartments, College Statton, TX 77840, USA The use of computer controlled manufacturing systems incor- porating robots and flexable control xs of paramount interest today A number of econormsts have noted that strength m high technology industries such as atrcraft, massdes, commum- cations, electromc and computers, m contrast to older in- dustries, gtves the economy of any country strong long-term growth prospects During the past two decades, the concept of a retable, programmable automauon dexace, which has come to be known as an "mdustnal robot", has become a reahty A variety of these automatmn modules have been developed, offenng a wide range of capabditles and apphcatlon possththtles Robots currently help weld, cast, form, assemble, machine, transfer, inspect, load and unload parts into and out of a number of &ffenng machines and processes The ftrst part of tins paper analyzes the slgmficance of FMS m mdustnes today The second part of the paper attempts to evaluate some of the areas of savings as a result of using robots Keywords Flexable manufacturing systems, Computer-atded manufactunng Nourredme Boubekn is a researcher at the robotics laboratory at the "Le Haut Comnussanat A La Recherche" (Algeria), and prowdes consulting serwces m factory automatmn for in- dustry Before assuming these func- tmns, he was an asststant professor of the industrial engmeenng department at the umverslty of Mmml (Honda) He received a B S degree and a M E degree from Boston UmversRy m 1980 He received a Ph D degree m m- dustnal and management systems en- gineering from the UmversRy of Nebraska-Lincoln m 1983 He has pubhshed m robottcs, manufacturing processes, as well as m computer-reded manufactunng areas North-Holland Robotics 3 (1987) 421-426 1. Introduction The automated factory has been enwsloned by the manufactunng world for more than a decade now The production manager, always pressured to Improve output, has been influenced by classi- cal econormsts who rank technological advance- ment as the most important deternunant for tm- proving productlvaty [1] From 1948 to 1973 the book value of capital equipment per umt of labor grew at an annual rate of almost 3 percent Smce 1973, however, lower rates of private investment have led to a dechne in the rate of 1 75 percent [2] Corporate managers, shocked by faltering pro- ductlvaty and loss of markets to international com- petition, have begun to perceive a connection be- tween their deteriorating competitive posxtlons and neglect of the part of their businesses that actually produce goods Technological advancement, including im- proved management techmques and mtegraUon of a manufactunng process, Is the most ~mportant factor in the classical equatmn for productivity Hence, two related technologies, computers and robots, offer prime opportumtles for ~mprove- ment us industry today is beginning to reap the harvest of computerized mnovatmns that are al- ready revolutmmzang producUon processes Until recently, the rationale for using robots pertained to hot, hazardous, boring envaronments and hftlng heavy objects These areas of apphca- tlons include foundry work, welding, material handhng and machine tending Today manage- ment ~s starting to reahze that robots are a key entry for a change m the manufacturing process New task descriptions are being defined for robots m order to meet the challenges of new production systems, namely, flexable manufactunng systems New highly flexable and programmable robots ut~hzlng controllers that exemphfy the haghest levels of artlficml mtelhgence used m industrial 0167-8493/87/$3 50 © 1987, Elsewer Soence Pubhshers B V (North-Holland)