There is a continuous need within most manufacturing environments for more flexible
production equipment, particularly where customer satisfaction and responsiveness promote quality
improvement. In this paper, an automated agile manufacturing system that uses high-speed
computer numerically controlled (CNC) machines to make automotive cylinder heads is proposed
and evaluated by means of discrete event simulation using the ARENA simulator. Two alternative
agile system configurations are constructed and simulated to achieve the production target. The
simulation shows some significant benefits in using the agile system and demonstrates that
high-speed CNC equipment is a viable option for cylinder head manufacture at a production volume
of 550 000 units per annum. It is shown that the agile system can provide more flexibility and half
the throughput time of the transfer line
