The design of flexible machining cells

This thesis reports research carried out into the integration of detailed design and evaluation for flexible machining facilities. It examines the use of approximate modelling methods and a detailed discrete event emulator for the evaluation of such facilities. These analysis methods are embedded transparent to the user within a design aid specifically aimed at the design of flexible machining cells. A novel approach to the design and analysis of these cells is described and an integrated systematic structure proposed. The question of whether such an approach satisfies the requirements of industry is examined on the basis of its operation, and its application to three industrial case studies. It is shown that the approach gives a number of advantages in the areas of constructing designs, automatic configuration of modelling information, ease of running models, and level of detail achieved in the emulation of flexible machining facilities.