To achieve maximum productivity, it is necessary to concentrate as much of the process as possible in a cell. This eliminates the need for intermediate stock, and results in a much improved lead time. To do this, it is necessary to concatenate machines by using automation. In our case, we use a robot having a long travel to handle the parts. A section of conveyor belt is also used to provide a “buffer” of initial loading.

The aim is to form cells that automatically finish the product in the soft phase. However, this use of cells is only used for parts for which large volumes are to be manufactured. For small runs, a more manual manufacture will be necessary, as the time for changing an automatic cell means that it is not cost-effective below a certain minimum batch size.