An flexible manufacturing system (FMS) is a production method that uses machines and computer systems configured to manufacture a variety of parts and handle changing production levels. An FMS reduces labor costs through automation but has higher initial setup costs than a fixed system. It was developed in the 1950s and debuted in factories in the late 1960s, allowing interconected workstations to process products from start to finish. Advantages include lower per-unit costs and improved quality, while initial costs and maintenance complexity are disadvantages.

1. Flexible Manufacturing
System
Ömer Faruk Ak

2. What Is a
Flexible
Manufacturin
g System
(FMS)?
A flexible manufacturing system
(FMS) is a production method that
is designed to easily adapt to
changes in the type and quantity of
the product being manufactured.
Machines and computerized
systems can be configured to
manufacture a variety of parts
and handle changing levels of
production.

3. KEY TAKEAWAYS
• A flexible manufacturing system (FMS) is
designed up front to be readily adapted to
changes in the type and quantity of goods being
produced.
• Production in an FMS is largely automated,
reducing overall labor costs.
• An FMS system is, however, more expensive to
design and put in place than a fixed system,
and it requires skilled technicians.

4. Understanding a Flexible
Manufacturing System (FMS)
A flexible manufacturing system (FMS) can improve
efficiency and reduce production costs, which are crucial
concerns in the process of business development. Flexible
manufacturing also can be a key component of a make-to-
order strategy that allows customized products and keeps
inventories low. Such flexibility can come with higher up-
front costs. Purchasing and installing the specialized
equipment that allows for such customization may be costly
compared with more traditional systems.

5. The concept of flexible manufacturing was developed by
Jerome H. Lemelson (1923–1997), an American industrial
engineer and inventor who filed a number of related patents
in the early 1950s. His original design was a robot-based
system that could weld, rivet, convey, and inspect
manufactured goods.
Lemelson did not build his system; indeed, when he posited
it, the ability to build it was still out of reach. Eventually,
however, it became possible to build one, and the FMS
debuted on factory floors in the United States and Europe in
the late 1960s and started to proliferate in the 1970s.

6. An FMS may include a configuration of interconnected
workstations with computer terminals that process the end-
to-end creation of a product. Functions may include loading
and unloading, machining and assembly, storing, quality
testing, and data processing. The system can
be programmed to run a batch of one set of products in a
particular quantity and then automatically switch over to
another set of products in another quantity.

7. Advantages of FMS
Reduced
manufacturing
cost
Lower cost per
unit produced,
Greater labor
productivity,
Greater
machine
efficiency,
Improved
quality,
Increased
system
reliability,
Reduced parts
inventories,
Adaptability to
CAD/CAM
operations.
Shorter lead
times
Improved
efficiency
Increase
production rate

8. Disadvantages of FMS
Initial set-up
cost is high,
Substantial pre-
planning
Requirement of
skilled labor
Complicated
system
Maintenance is
complicated