Analysis of different transport solutions in the flexible manufacturing cell by using computer simulation

Simulation has been gaining in acceptance as a tool which enables industrial and manufacturing engineers to perform extensive analysis of the problems they face on a daily basis. Analyses the productivity of a system of four flexible machining centres with regard to the transport of workpieces. Three types of transport were studied: automated inductively guided vehicle, automated rail‐guided vehicle and automated conveyor system. The simulation study has shown that the highest productivity of the system is achieved when using automatic conveyor belts as a transport means.