Performance analysis of matrix-structured manufacturing systems compared to dedicated flow and reconfigurable manufacturing lines

Manufacturing systems encounter various unpredictable external and internal changes that diminish efficiency. These alterations in assembly systems, resulting in variations in processing times, failures, and multiple product types, often lead to issues such as starvation or blocking at workstations. Improving routing flexibility, as opposed to using fixed routing, can enhance the efficiency of assembly lines. A reconfigurable manufacturing system introduces limited routing flexibility, while a matrix-structured manufacturing system (MMS) incorporates complete routing flexibility. This research evaluates the performance of MMS configurations with different levels of flexibility and two allocation rules compared to reconfigurable manufacturing and dedicated systems. The simulation analysis conducted highlights the benefits of MMS compared to reconfigurable and dedicated systems in terms of performance measures and energy consumption. The numerical results emphasize the significant advantages of MMS for both production performance and energy consumption when the setup time accounts for approximately 10% of the average processing time of the tasks. This setup time enables the realization of benefits with a moderate level of machine flexibility within the MMS. However, when the setup time is higher, the reconfigurable system becomes a valid alternative to improve performance.