Lights out (manufacturing)
Lights out or lights-out manufacturing is a manufacturing methodology (or philosophy), rather than a specific process.
Factories that run lights out are fully automated and require no human presence on-site. Thus, these factories can be run with the lights off. Many factories are capable of lights-out production, but very few run exclusively lights-out. Typically, workers are necessary to set up tombstones holding parts to be manufactured, and to remove the completed parts. As the technology necessary for lights-out production becomes increasingly available, many factories are beginning to utilize lights-out production between shifts (or as a separate shift) to meet increasing demand or to save money. An automatic factory is a place where raw materials enter and finished products leave with little or no human intervention.[1][2][3]
One of the earliest descriptions of the automatic factory in fiction was the 1955 short story "Autofac".
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[edit] Real world examples
[edit] "Lights out" CNC machining
CNC machine tools do not require continuous operator attention, and some models can and are run unattended.[4] A few machine shops run unattended on nights and weekends.[1] These include Chasco Machine and Manufacturing Company and Northern Manufacturing Company.[2] However, Roger Smith attempted completely automated manufacturing while serving as CEO of General Motors and the company experienced negative results and a decline in quality.[5] One of the side effects of this was the permanent loss of 60,000 jobs for General Motors in the area of Flint, Michigan.[6] Although it was assumed that the company was facing hard times, they were actually making billions of dollars in profits and were looking for a reasonable excuse to ship the remaining manual labor jobs to Mexico.[6]
[edit] Existing "lights-out factories"
FANUC, the Japanese robotics company, has been operating a "lights out" factory for robots since 2001.[7] "Robots are building other robots at a rate of about 50 per 24-hour shift and can run unsupervised for as long as 30 days at a time. "Not only is it lights-out," says Fanuc vice president Gary Zywiol, "we turn off the air conditioning and heat too."
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Toward the automatic factory" in "Electronic Servicing & Technology" magazine 1982 August
- ^ "Toward the Automatic Factory: A Case Study of Men and Machines" by Charles Rumford Walker 1977 ISBN 083719301X
- ^ "Automatic Factory" in Time magazine 1953 Sep. 28
- ^ TAKEI MASAMI(Fuji Heavy Ind. Ltd.) (2003). "Realizing Unattended Hours of Continuous Operation of Machining Center with Addition of Intelligent Function" (in Japanese). Subaru Technical Review 30: 251–256. ISSN 0910-4852. http://sciencelinks.jp/j-east/article/200313/000020031303A0371078.php.
- ^ Greenwald, John and McWhirter, William and Szczesny, Joseph R. (June 1, 2003). "What Went Wrong? Everything at Once.". TIME Magazine. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,976990-1,00.html.
- ^ a b Roger and Me (VHS). Warner Brothers.
- ^ Null, Christopher and Caulfield, Brian (June 1, 2003). "Fade To Black The 1980s vision of "lights-out" manufacturing, where robots do all the work, is a dream no more.". CNN Money. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2003/06/01/343371/index.htm.
