II. Vocabulary.

Ex.1. Make up the collocations

1. appropriate	1. station
2. load	2. third shift
3. part	3. personnel
4. unmanned	4. CN program
5. skilled	5. flow

Ex.2. Fill in the gaps with the appropriate word-combination from ex.1.

1… for specific fu­ture jobs will be required, and that implies a major need for education and training programs.

2. Spindles can be equipped with part surface sensing probes to verify blanks with loaded… and establish first-cut positioning.

3. The … in the systems is directed by the control computer which acts like the traffic coordinator.

4. In most CIMS installations incoming raw workpieces are fixtured on the pallets at… then they move via the material handling system to queues at the production machines for processing.

5. Summing it up one must say that current development and\or trends are towards flexible cells and FMS concepts because the main benefits include improved productivity, better quality of product, less operator dependence, more machine up-time during which a module can process parts and the potential for ….

III. Grammar.

Ex.1. Translate the following sentences paying your attention to the underlined words.

1. Typically, the throughput achieved for a set of machines in an FMS will be up to three times that achieved by the same machines in a stand-alone job shop environment.

2. In addition, the part arrives at a machine already fixtured on a pallet, so that the machine does not have to wait while the part is set-up.

3. The only direct labor involved is that of less skilled personnel to fixture and de- fixture the parts at the load station, plus a system supervi­sor.

4. A tool or machine must never be used for any purpose other than that for which it is in intended.

5. The load being reapplied, the deflection was similar to that in the first test.

6. The transmission of information by radio waves requires that some specific installations be employed.

7. The problem that confronts the operator of a plant is essentially the same as that met by any operator.

IV. Comprehension.

Ex.1. Define the number of the passage from the text containing information about:

1. Sources of product quality.

2. Results of high utilization of equipment.

3. Shifts at the plant.

4. Planning of the manufacturing process.

5. Spare part production.

6. Reduction in the number of personnel.

7. Reduced ratio in the number of machines.

8. Advantages of FMS compared with stand-alone machines.

Ex.2. Agree or disagree with the following statements.

1. The throughput achieved for a set of machines in FMS is three times bigger that achieved by stand-alone machines.

2. The low utilization of equipment results in the need for fewer machines in the FMS to do the same work.

3. Product quality comes from high level of automation, reduction in the number of machines.

4. Machinists are needed to run machines.

5. Planning is available for floor space with low production volumes only.

Ex.3. Answer the questions.

1. How is high efficiency of FMS achieved?

2. Why doesn’t the machine have to wait for a part?

3. What does high utilization of equipment result in?

4. What is a common ratio of reduction in the number of machines?

5. What does operational flexibility offer?

Ex.4. Choose from the episodes 1-5 the one which fits each gap A-E in the text.

1. When a machine cycle for a single part is relatively long, a two-pallet shuttle system can significantly improve productivity. Pallets can provide the common handling platform until in flexible machining systems. An operator unloads\loads one pallet while the other is in front of spindle. A similar improvement can be obtained for batches of parts requiring relatively simple short machining cycle by mounting multiple numbers of the parts on a pallet. In advanced systems, different parts on the pallets are either in transfer, waiting in queue or being machined –all under programmed control. The general trend toward pallets that can accurately located and that are easy to load and unload, with fixturing that contributes to the ideal processing goal of accomplishing as much as possible with one part setup.

2. It seems almost certain that the main reasons for using FMS are the economic benefits. They include first a greater output and lower unit cost on a shop floor. It is possible to say that the FMS is the system where the time spent on the machine can be as high as 90% and the time spent on cutting can again be over 90%.Compare this to stand-alone numerically-controlled machines (NC), where the part from stock to finished item spends only 5% of its productive time on the machine tool. High utilization of capital equipment in the FMS over that of stand-alone machines results in fewer machines being needed to carry out the same work. The introduction of the FMS made it possible to greater increase equipment utilization.

3. The ability of FMS to produce whatever mix of parts is required on demand greatly reduces work-in-process time. This reduction may be explained by the variety of causes which reduce the time a part it waiting for operations such as:

-the concentration of all equipment required to produce parts in a small area;

-the reduction in the number of fixtures required and the number of machine a part must travel to because processes are combined on machining centres.

High product quality is improved because the product is more uniform and consistent. This also leads to greatly reduced costs of network.

4. The routing through the shop has traditionally been performed manually, but a shortage of trained process planners and the need for consistent routings has brought computers to solve this task. The concept, called computer- aided process planning, attempts fully automate the function based only on information from CAD. One other important fact ought to be mentioned. While FMS requires fewer machine operators or none at all the remaining staff-production engineers, computer programmers, maintenance engineers have to be highly skilled, and skills not available now could be required in future.

5. In addition we need manufacturing flexibility to shorten the introduction lead time of new products or changes to existing product. We require flexibility to adapt to rapidly changing demands on manufacturing process without creating chaos and without adversely effecting operating results. Flexible systems not only enhance the ability to respond to rapidly changing demands but also offer much benefits as higher inventory turns – something we didn’t pay much attention to a few years ago when interest rates were low and obsolescence was less important than it is today.