Modeling of assembly systems with complex structures for throughput analysis during transients

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present an analytical method for throughput analysis of assembly systems with complex structures during transients.

Design/methodology/approach

Among the existing studies on the performance evaluation of assembly systems, most focus on the system performance in steady state. Inspired by the transient analysis of serial production lines, the state transition matrix is derived considering the characteristics of merging structure in assembly systems. The system behavior during transients is described by an ergodic Markov chain, with the states being the occupancy of all buffers. The dynamic model for the throughput analysis is solved using the fixed-point theory.

Findings

This method can be used to predict and evaluate the throughput performance of assembly systems in both transient and steady state. By comparing the model calculation results with the simulation results, this method is proved to be accurate.

Originality/value

This proposed modeling method can depict the throughput performance of assembly systems in both transient and steady state, whereas most exiting methods can be used for only steady-state analysis. In addition, this method shows the potential for the analysis of complex structured assembly systems owing to the low computational complexity.

Citation

Hou, Y., Li, Y., Ge, Y., Zhang, J. and Jiang, S. (2019), "Modeling of assembly systems with complex structures for throughput analysis during transients", Assembly Automation, Vol. 39 No. 2, pp. 262-271. https://doi.org/10.1108/AA-12-2017-172