Computer Integrated Manufacturing
Revolution in progress
Published on 31. July 1991
Book
Hardback
XII, 266 pages
978-0-412-39470-6 (ISBN)
Description
CIM (computer integrated manufacturing) is an acronym that has become fairly well known in recent years in manufacturing and related engineering circles. The purpose of the CIM Project at IIASA is to close the widening gap between the pace of technological, economic, and social events, on the one hand, and the progress of understanding those events, on the other. The IIASA study has attempted, first, to define the existing world situation with regard to the underlying technologies of CIM, and the degrees to which technologies such as NC/CNC machine tools, robotics, and CAD/CAM are currently being used in metal products manufacturing. The methodology adopted in the study is eclectic. It is multiperspective and multidisciplinary, as well as multinational. It incorporates elements of both "bottom-up" and "top-down" approaches. Finally, it incorporates both historical analysis and "model" forecasts of the future, together with scenarios analyses. This first volume is a summary volume and describes the outputs of the bottom-up part of the study.
Reviews / Votes
...an easy read...very useful as additional background for engineering students since it places manufacturing processes in the larger socio-economic frame without being too jargon-laden...highly relevant to economic and tother social scientists, teachers, as well as students. - International Journal of Production ResearchMore details
Content
Part 1 Overview and theses: background - the barrier and the breakthrough; the complexity/variety barrier; globalization and restructuring of industry; CIM and the systems view of manufacturing; general conclusions. Part 2 Manufacturing technology and sources of productivity: sources of past gains in manufacturing protectivity; manufacturing operations for non-engineers; human factors - man-machine interface; manufacturing productivity trends. Part 3 Simple economics of manufacturing: economies of scale and learning; a simplified cost model; the productivity dilemma; flexibility and economics of scope. Part 4 Flexible manufacturing technology: programmability; numerical controls before computerization; computers and micro-electronics; computer numerical control of machine tools; robots; flexible (batch) manufacturing - FMC and FMS; adoption strategies for FMS; sensors and adaptive control; artificial intelligence. Part 5 Adoption/diffusion of CIM technologies: the diffusion process; progress versus diffusion; benefits measurement; static versus dynamic approaches to benefits measurement; numeric control (NC and CNC); robots; flexible manufacturing cells and systems; CAD. Part 6 Organization and management: SQC and TQC; group technology (GT); materials resource planning (MRP); just-in-time (JIT) and CIM; meta systems and protocols; new approaches to cost accounting; flexible management. Part 7 Economic impacts of CIM: labour and capital; scale dynamics; labour productivity and macro-economic growth; product mix - the implications of diversity; productivity slowdown. Part 8 Social impacts of CIM: quality of work life; network organization; employment and unemployment; the social structure and the role of the unions; education; international trade and economic development. Part 9 Epilogue: post-industrialism reconsidered.