Manufacturing flow line systems: a review of models and analytical results

The most important models and results of the manufacturing flow line literature are described. These include the major classes of models (asynchronous, synchronous, and continuous); the major features (blocking, processing times, failures and repairs); the major properties (conservation of flow, flow rate-idle time, reversibility, and others); and the relationships among different models. Exact and approximate methods for obtaining quantitative measures of performance are also reviewed. The exact methods are appropriate for small systems. The approximate methods, which are the only means available for large systems, are generally based on decomposition, and make use of the exact methods for small systems. Extensions are briefly discussed. Directions for future research are suggested.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant DDM-8914277

The JPL Cryogenic Dilatometer: Measuring the Thermal Expansion Coefficient of Aerospace Materials

This slide presentation details the cryogenic dilatometer, which is used by JPL to measure the thermal expansion coefficient of materials used in Aerospace. Included is a system diagram, a picture of the dilatometer chamber and the laser source, a description of the laser source, pictures of the interferometer, block diagrams of the electronics and software and a picture of the electronics, and software. Also there is a brief review of the accurace.error budget. The materials tested are also described, and the results are shown in strain curves, JPL measured strain fits are described, and the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) is also shown for the materials tested

Analysis of Automated Flow Line Systems with Repair Crew Interference

The interrelations between production and maintenance are mostly neglected during the design phase of automated production systems. Thus, the relevant performance measures of a planned production system like production rate, throughput time, work in process etc. are often estimated inaccurately. The paper presents an analytical approach for performance evaluation of an automated flow line system (AFLS) which takes into account the dependency between the production and the repair system. The suggested model and solution approach are particularly helpful in the initial design phase as well as during a redesign process in order to evaluate alternative configurations of the planned production and repair system

Analysis of Automated Flow Line Systems with Repair Crew Interference

The interrelations between production and maintenance are mostly neglected during the design phase of automated production systems. Thus, the relevant performance measures of a planned production system like production rate, throughput time, work in process etc. are often estimated inaccurately. The paper presents an analytical approach for performance evaluation of an automated flow line system (AFLS) which takes into account the dependency between the production and the repair system. The suggested model and solution approach are particularly helpful in the initial design phase as well as during a redesign process in order to evaluate alternative configurations of the planned production and repair system