Modeling Re-entrant Manufacturing Systems with Inspections - Robotics and Automation, 1995. Proceedings., 1995 IEEE International Conference on

Inspection stations are now an integral part of any manufacturing system and help track product quality and process performance. I n this paper we consider re-entrant manufacturing systems (such as semiconductor fabrication facilities) with inspections at various stages of processing. At the end of each inspect ion, three possibilities are assumed, namely accept, reject, or rework at some previous stage. We propose re-entrant lines with probabilistic routing as models f o r such systems and present an ef ic ient analytical technique based on mean value analysis t o predict mean cycle t imes and throughput rates. We can use the method t o compare different ways of locating inspect ion stations, f rom a cycle time and throughput viewpoint.