Four ways to manufacture: site, job shop, line, flow (3D)
About this app
A factory hall rearranges itself from site and job-shop production to line and flow production. Volume and variance decide which principle fits; transport routes, lead time, stock, flexibility and investment update live.
With explain mode: an AI tutor walks you through the app, points out what matters in the scene and answers your questions.
Four manufacturing sequences
The manufacturing sequence describes how the equipment is arranged, which transport routes exist and how closely the capacities are balanced. In site production the product stays put and workers and equipment come to it. Job-shop production groups similar machines together and suits single-unit and small-batch production. Line and flow production arrange the machines in the order of the operations: the line without direct linking and with buffers, flow directly linked in a common cycle time and without buffers. Which principle fits follows from volume and variance.
What the app shows
A factory hall with twelve machines: two saws, four lathes, two milling machines, two drills and two inspection stations. When the principle changes, the machines glide to new places, workpieces travel from raw material to shipping, and bands on the floor show the transport routes. A panel shows the transport route per workpiece, lead time as a multiple of processing time, stock in the hall, and flexibility and investment on a scale from 1 to 5. In the relative teaching model the job shop needs a 168 m route and 9.7 times the processing time, flow 32 m and 1.3 times.
What you try out
Set the dot on the volume × variance map or pick an example product: power plant, machine tool, white goods or consumer electronics. With “hall follows the map” the hall rearranges to the recommendation. With the switch off you choose the principle freely, and the status box shows whether it fits volume and variance. In the top view you see the routes tangle in the job shop and straighten out in the line. The pros and cons of each principle are listed in the Key figures panel.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the difference between line and flow production?
- Both arrange the machines in the order of the operations. In line production the stations are not directly linked, and buffers between them absorb fluctuations. In flow production they are directly linked and work in a common cycle time without buffers.
- When is job-shop production the right choice?
- Job-shop production groups similar machines, for example all lathes in one turning shop. It suits single-unit and small-batch production with high variance and little similarity between parts. The price is long transport routes, high stock and long lead times.
- How do you choose a manufacturing principle?
- By the volume and variance of the products. One-off products such as plants are built in site production, small volumes with high variance in a job shop, medium volumes in line production and high volumes with low variance in flow production. The boundaries between the regions are fluid.
- How does the “Four ways to manufacture” app work?
- You choose volume and variance on a map or pick an example product, and the 3D hall rearranges to the matching principle. Transport route, lead time, stock, flexibility and investment update along with it; the values come from a relative teaching model.
Subject: Industrial Engineering
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