Supply chain configuration tool

This tool supports the design and evaluation of reconfigurable production cells. The goal is to determine possible production cell’s architectures together with the enabling equipment, devices and control system, for a seamless and fast re(arrangement) of manufacturing resources to cope with high uncertainty. The inputs to this tool are a database with the available equipment (technologies, robots, tools, fixtures, etc), the information related to the products to be manufactured (type, dimension, production process, cycle times, etc.) and a set of constraints and target performance (capabilities, product volumes and the related variability, space constraints, binding agreements, etc.). The output of this tool is a set of feasible configuration of a production cell, together with an optimized reconfiguration strategy in relation to the considered evolution scenarios. The tool enables the exploration of the trade-off between investments and performance, thus helping to identify a target of flexibility and formulate an equipment investment strategy. The flexibility available through different hardware and control solutions is also considered to leverage robustness at the plant level.