Machine interference in automated cells

This paper presents a simulation and an analytical modeling of the machine interference problem in manufacturing cells. Each machine experiences two types of stoppage which are to be served by a robot. Several combinations of the distributions of the stoppages, service distributions, and service disciplines are studied. We determine the optimal number of machines assigned to the robot under different operating conditions such that the expected total cost of the manufacturing cell is minimized.This research is based on Mr. Norton's M.S. thesis, which was conducted at Rutgers.