Analysis of a finite capacity assembly system

Consider a finite capacity automatic assembly system consisting of a set of tandem work stations linked by a material handling system. Each work station consists of a set of machines and a local preprocessed inventory. The material handling system consists of a set of continuous line conveyors. Each conveyor has a beginning and an end with a specified length, velocity and capacity. The performance of the above manufacturing system is analyzed based on a mixed queuing network model, in the steady state. A methodology is presented for controlling blocking of the manufacturing system such that the probability of finding either a work station or a conveyor blocked will be sufficiently close to zero. Finally, numerical results are provided and the concluding remarks are discussed.