Takt Time Based Cost Model for Assembly System Configuration

In manufacturing, assembly is one of the major activities that combine the machined components into final product. Decision on assembly sequence (line balancing) and appropriate facility layout adaptable to takt time with cost benefit is a challenging task. This paper presents an effective cost model to configure the assembly system based on cost per piece. The proposed cost model is experimented with a prototype assembly system established in this research to demonstrate its effectiveness. The experiments conducted for pneumatic cylinder assembly with different takt times indicates that the proposed procedure can be used effectively to configure the assembly systems to promote lean operations.