Concurrent Production Engineering System for buffer size and flexible transfer line layout design

In this paper we propose a Concurrent Production Engineering System (COPES) for the flexible transfer line (FTL) layout design in a restricted area. COPES first determines the buffer size in front of the bay of each machine tool in the FTL and then initializes a computer aided design (CAD) system to draw the FTL in a restricted area. We develop a set of modules systems which have been integrated into a single framework, in accordance with the practice of concurrent engineering. Concurrent engineering involves the cooperation of these activities. It's expected that the developed COPES can improve the cooperation between production engineers' and the plant designer. This can be done by enabling the production engineers' to make better decision regarding FTL buffer size.