Reconfigurable Manufacturing and Beyond

RMS may be applied to manufacturing systems for large volume production, such as those used in the auto industry, and can be applied to a small cell of machines, or even to a single machine. The concept in all these applications is the same – purchase exactly the equipment that you need, with the option to change it exactly when your needs will change. Changes may be in the functionality of the equipment or system (i.e., features), and in their capacity (products per day). Changes may be also needed in the reallocation of tasks among machines. All these types of changes require reconfiguration, of hardware and software. The reconfigurable system and reconfigurable machines as well as their software must be designed at the outset to be reconfigurable, quickly and cost-effectively.