Abstract:
Manufacturing of moulds and dies based on the rigid and traditional arrangement of dedicated
workstations in a production system can no more stand the test of time. The dynamic and competitive
nature of the market is compelling managements in the industry to look for a manufacturing system
that (1) will ensure high quality product, (2) will pave way for a quick changeover to a new setup to
be able to accommodate the new products, (3) will ensures short lead times in product/process
changeover, and (4) that will make its product come out at a relatively low cost. An emerging strategy
that might enable industries to cope with the rapidly changing product specifications is based on
reconfiguring the manufacturing systems. A manufacturing strategy that is based on reconfiguration
of the manufacturing systems may help accommodate emergent product changes in short periods at
the lowest possible costs by combining certain levels of flexibility and customised automation. In this
paper the principles of reconfigurability is being considered for mould and die making industry.
