Performance analysis of a composite work cell with a gantry and system reconfiguration

In this paper, a reconfigurable composite work cell with a gantry that is in charge of moving materials/parts from one machine to another is considered. To diagnose the work cell performance, demand dissatisfaction is proposed to evaluate the discrepancy between market demand and system output. Demand dissatisfaction consists of the effect of work cell capacity as well as the impact of disruption events. Production loss attribution of each machine is identified as machine's impact on the work cell performance. A reconfiguration strategy is proposed to satisfy possible demand changes and serve the purpose of energy saving. A gantry work cell for composite lay-up process is used for a case study, by which the performance diagnostic methodology and reconfiguration strategy are demonstrated. (c) 2017 The Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.