APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR HANDLING SHORT RUN QUICK CHANGEOVER FABRICATION JOBS

摘要

In a flexible manufacturing system (FMS), a shelving module of a work cell is fitted with a dedicated lift conveying mechanism so that work materials of desired sizes may be retrieved individually from different shelves or cassettes of the shelving module for conveyance to the machine(s) of the work cell. By having its own dedicated lift conveying mechanism that operates independently from the transport system that transports raw materials to the different work cells of the FMS, the operation of each work cell becomes unaffected by the transport system. As such, for each of the work cells, materials may be fed piecemeal to a machine of the cell for fabrication, if so desired. In the meantime, the various shelves of the shelving module, and other shelving modules, may continue to be re-stocked by the transport system. Any material remnants that prior to the instant invention would have been wasted may be returned to the appropriate shelves of the shelving module for future use by the lift conveying mechanism.