Material flow management in cellular configurations for small-lot, circuit card assembly†

SUMMARY

This paper addresses questions which arise in analysing the practices that might be effective in managing material flow in cellular systems that assemble circuit cards, including the potential effect of cell design, the role of buffers, the relative effects of traditional management policies, and the influence of material handling equipment. The paper provides a structured method for analysing circuit card assembly systems and suggests guidelines expected to be useful in actual systems.

Notes

†This paper is based on research supported by the National Science Foundation under grant number DMC 8500898.