The purpose of the acceptance testing of automated flexible manufacturing is to determine if all the components of the system operate to expected specification levels. This is determined by running the equipment for an extended period of time in full manufacturing mode. Certain events must have taken place for a correct acceptance test to be run. The acceptance testing of recently installed flexible manufacturing can happen successfully if the work station equipment in the system has been installed correctly. Each of the piece of equipment should have been successfully tested individually after installation and determined to be functioning to manufacturer specifications. All the controller hardware and software should have been installed and tested and be functioning optimally. Personnel for the purchasing company have been trained in the proper work functions that are required to run and support the equipment correctly. All the tasks that are required of personnel to operate the equipment correctly have been verified by the support personnel from the integrator supplier. The whole manufacturing system has been tested as a complete operational unit for optimum performance. The operational commands that are required during operation of the system in full production have been tested during earlier install and debug.
Once flexible manufacturing is installed, it is necessary for the purchasing company to perform acceptance testing for a period of time. This period of time is agreed upon by both the automation integrating supplier and the purchasing company. The acceptance testing time period is to make sure that all component parts of the system work as they should. Usually the more complex the manufacturing system and its work stations are, the longer the time that is allocated for the acceptance test. At the very beginning of the acceptance testing of the system the supplier continues to have personnel at the purchasing company facility to monitor the daily operation of the installed system. During this time the purchasing company personnel are trained in how to effectively support the ongoing manufacturing system. Usually an acceptance test period is anywhere in the range of 10 to 20 shifts of continuous operations. The flexible manufacturing should run without major problem for this period of time. This time is also used to tweak the system in order to get it to its optimum performance level.
While the acceptance testing is running there are statistics that must be collected about the performance of the system during full production. The full production rate for each production job must be collected. This rate will vary based on the product that is currently being manufactured. These production rates will be compared with what should be acceptable production rates. This can be a major determinant in the success of the testing. Statistics should also be kept for equipment accuracy, functionality, and utilization levels. Are the equipment units in the system able to perform continuously with little adjustment? Are there times when the equipment fails to perform and needs to be shut down for adjustment? Are there repeated adjustments that need to be made to keep the equipment running? These are all questions that need to be answered during testing.
Other areas that will need to have critical analysis done include product quality and the accuracy of production. Are the products that come off the end of the production line where the flexible manufacturing system is working consistently of high quality? Are high quality products being repeated as the manufacturing processes run? Are the tooling and fixturing operations smooth and consistent? Is the overall flow of the manufacturing system smooth and consistent? At the beginning of operations these flows may not be smooth, but with tweaking they may become consistent. It is important that employees “soak” as much information as possible about the idiosyncrasies of the equipment while the staff of the installing company is available. After the acceptance test is complete, the integrator personnel will leave, so the employees need to be ready to run the equipment on their own. If the integrator personnel are very good at what they do, they will allow the purchasing company personnel to operate the equipment during the testing phase so they can own the process.
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