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Modelling and simulation method for production process automation in steel casting foundry

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The problem of production flow in steel casting foundry is analysed in this paper. Because of increased demand and market competition, a reorganisation of the foundry process is required, including the elimination of manual labour and the implementation of automation and robotisation of certain processes. The problem is how to determine the real difference in work efficiency between human workers and robots. We show an analysis of the production efficiency of steel casting foundry operated by either human operators or industrial robots. This is a problem from the field of Operations Research for which the Discrete Event Simulation (DES) method is used. Three models are developed, including the foundry before and after automation when taking into consideration parameters of the availability of machines, operators and robots. We apply the OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) indicator to present how the availability, performance and quality parameters influence the foundry’s productivity. In addition, stability of the simulation model was analysed. This approach allows for a better representation of real production processes and the obtained results can be used for further economic analysis.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)47-52
Number of pages6
JournalArchives of Foundry Engineering
Volume18
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  1. SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
    SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

Keywords

  • Automation
  • Discrete event simulation
  • Human factors
  • OEE - overall equipment effectiveness
  • Robotics in foundry
  • Transport systems in foundry

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
  • Metals and Alloys

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