Flexible Manufacturing Systems

FMS-6 is designed to report on the latest developments in flexible manufacturing systems, with the emphasis on papers detailing current achievements in industry. Case studies are presented on flexible assembly systems in the electronics industry, a flexible laser welding system, CIM and injection moulding, a flexible grinding cell and an FMS for the production of sheet metal panel boards. The session on "practicalities" included discussions of materials handling, including an expert system for material flow analysis and also studies of system design, analysis and operation. The final session on quality looked at various on-line inspection systems, and also posed the question: "FMS: Zero QC v/s advanced integrated QC; are zero defects really possible?"