A modelling approach for dedicated machinery to support the effects of mass customisation

Abstract

In recent years the strategy of mass customisation has become being increasingly adopted as manufacturers seek to exploit market trends for greater product variety and individualisation. The implications of changing to mass customisation practice are considerable, specifically for the equipment producing the product. It is common practice within manufacturing companies to rely on trial-and-error approaches to develop their existing processing equipment for new or variant products. The approach presented in this paper employs the capability of a modelling environment to represent and simulate variations in machine design configuration and assess their ability to process variant products. The approach is demonstrated on an example from the packaging industry.

Keywords:

• process modelling
• manufacturing systems evolution
• product variation
• mass customisation

Acknowledgements

The work reported in this paper has been supported by Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs and the Food Processing Faraday Knowledge Transfer Network, involving a large number of industrial collaborators. In particular, current research is being undertaken as part of the EPSRC Innovative Design and Manufacturing Research Centre at the University of Bath (reference GR/R67507/01). The authors gratefully express their thanks for the advice and support of all concerned.