MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Department of Mechanical Engineering 2.008 Design and Manufacturing II Lab IX – Manufacturing Systems (the Lego lab) Introduction This lab involves a substantial set of in–lab exercises that will explain the functional differences between two distinctively different manufacturing systems. We will call one “System I”, and the other “System II”. You will build a figure from Lego blocks under a variety of conditions. You will participate in these simulations and complete the lab write-up before lab session is over to enforce the lessons learned. Manufacturing Systems Simulation This simulation will set up a hypothetical manufactured item and investigate the differences between two different systems for making this item. In this lab, you will produce “Orthogonal Pete,” a modular children’s toy. Figure 1: Orthogonal Pete This simulation needs around eight people: four assemblers, one quality controller, and three data collectors. If there are more or fewer people, the lab instructors will recommend alternatives. You will do the System I simulation first, then switch to System II. After finishing those simulations, you will have a chance to discuss and design a new system to improve the system performance.2.008 Design & Manufacturing II Manufacturing Systems 2System I Organization This system requires around 8 people: • Blueblox assembly • Yellowblox assembly • Redblox assembly • Final Assembly • Quality Control • Three Roving Data Collector (RDC) Figure 2: System I overview2.008 Design & Manufacturing II Manufacturing Systems 3Job Descriptions Person #1 is responsible for Blueblox assembly. You will use one small blue block and one large blue block (Type A) or three small blocks (Type B) to produce Orthogonal Pete’s leg. You should produce roughly 3 type “A” blocks for each type “B” block. Each Orthogonal Pete doll will have two legs. It does not matter which type of leg each Pete has. Block orientation for the leg assemblies is not critical. You will run one machine, the Leg Creator. Figure 3:A type A leg Figure 4: A type B leg2.008 Design & Manufacturing II Manufacturing Systems 4Person #2 is responsible for Yellowblox assembly. You will use two large yellow blocks and three small yellow blocks to construct Orthogonal Pete’s torso and arms. Block orientation is not critical. You will run two machines, the Arm Joiner and the Center Block Joiner. Figure 5: Parts of the Yellowblox assembly Figure 6: Complete Yellowblox assembly Person #3 is responsible for Redblox assembly. You must place a large red block (neck block) onto the Yellowblox Assembly. Following that, you must align a small red block (head block) so that its DUPLO lettering is facing in the same direction as the lettering on the large red block. Attach this block to the center of the large red block. Finally, attach a small red block (bottom block) to the center bottom of the torso. You will run three machines, the Neck Block Joiner, the Head Block Joiner, and the Bottom Block Joiner. Note: The large block must be attached to the yellow block before the small block can be fixed on. You cannot prepare a bunch of head assemblies and just attach them to the body. Note: Some large DUPLO blocks will have individual top-holes with different DUPLO lettering alignments. In order to decide which way to align your lettering, you can ignore the center holes. Align your part such that it’s lettering faces the same way as the majority of outer holes.2.008 Design & Manufacturing II Manufacturing Systems 5 Figure 7: Yellowblox with neck block Figure 8: Yellowblox with neck and head block Figure 9: Correct alignment of the neck and head blocks Figure 10: Complete Redblox assembly2.008 Design & Manufacturing II Manufacturing Systems 6Person #4 is responsible for Final assembly. They must join two Blueblox Assemblies to each Redblox Assembly as shown. It is permissible to use any combination of Type A and B leg assemblies. Lettering orientation is not critical at this step. You will run one machine, the Leg Block Assembler. Figure 11: Completed Orthogonal Pete Person #5 is responsible for Quality Control. They must inspect all parts to insure that they are properly assembled and record the number of parts produced per minute. The Quality Control person should be especially conscious of the orientation of the red blocks to make sure that they are properly aligned. If a bad part comes through the QC station, the QC manager should inform the failing station that it is producing bad parts. This can be accomplished verbally or in written form. “Hey, body assembler - your parts are bad” is a perfectly acceptable way to inform a station that it is producing bad parts. If you prefer nonverbal methods, you can tear out the “quality correction notice” in Appendix C and hand it to the failing station. The QC manager should be aware of each team member’s responsibilities so that he knows who to contact in the event of catching badly produced parts. You will run one machine, the Inspection Station.2.008 Design & Manufacturing II Manufacturing Systems 7Person #6~#8 are Roving Data Collectors. In order to understand the functioning of the system from a more detached viewpoint, these people should move from station to station and collect data about the system performance. • Data Collector #1 (Person #6) will collect the number of seconds required to complete an operation at that station. This action should be repeated at least three times for each station in order to collect a statistically meaningful average time. • Data Collector #2 (Person #7) will collect the number of work-in-process (WIP), which includes numbers of parts in the queues and those under process. This action should also be done at least three times. This person should also note the stations where starvations and buffer buildups take place. • Data Collector #3 (Person #8) will measure the overall cycle. He will be given a limited number