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{{no footnotes, date=March 2013 A transfer line is a manufacturing system which consists of a predetermined sequence of machines connected by an automated material handling system and designed for working on a very small family of parts. Parts can be moved singularly because there’s no need for batching when carrying parts between process stations (as opposed to a
job shop Job shops are typically small manufacturing systems that handle job production, that is, custom/bespoke or semi-custom/bespoke manufacturing processes such as small to medium-size customer orders or batch jobs. Job shops typically move on to diffe ...
for example). The line can synchronous, meaning that all parts advance with the same speed, or asynchronous, meaning buffers exist between stations where parts wait to be processed. Not all transfer lines must geometrically be straight lines, for example circular solutions have been developed which make use of rotary tables, however using buffers becomes almost impossible. A crucial problem for this production system is that of line balancing: a trade-off between increasing
productivity Productivity is the efficiency of production of goods or services expressed by some measure. Measurements of productivity are often expressed as a ratio of an aggregate output to a single input or an aggregate input used in a production proce ...
and minimizing cost conserving total processing time.


Advantages

*Easy management: low work in progress and
scheduling A schedule or a timetable, as a basic time-management tool, consists of a list of times at which possible tasks, events, or actions are intended to take place, or of a sequence of events in the chronological order in which such things are i ...
without simultaneous processing of different products *Low need for manpower *Less space needed (compare with
job shop Job shops are typically small manufacturing systems that handle job production, that is, custom/bespoke or semi-custom/bespoke manufacturing processes such as small to medium-size customer orders or batch jobs. Job shops typically move on to diffe ...
) *Less output variability: no alternative technological cycles and quality control is more effective (less WIP and easier to automate) *High system saturation: less production mix variability *Fast lead time. *High volume of production is possible.


Disadvantages

*Very low flexibility *Risk of obsolescence: due to new product introduction *High vulnerability to failures: a failure in a single machine blocks the whole system in very short time


See also

*
Job shop Job shops are typically small manufacturing systems that handle job production, that is, custom/bespoke or semi-custom/bespoke manufacturing processes such as small to medium-size customer orders or batch jobs. Job shops typically move on to diffe ...
*
Production line A production line is a set of sequential operations established in a factory where components are assembled to make a finished article or where materials are put through a refining process to produce an end-product that is suitable for onward c ...
*
Workflow A workflow consists of an orchestrated and repeatable pattern of activity, enabled by the systematic organization of resources into processes that transform materials, provide services, or process information. It can be depicted as a sequence ...


External links


Fuel injector transfer line with poka-yoke

Brush transfer line

Load/Unload Station of a golf ball transfer line
Manufacturing