Manufacturing systems how to choose between them

Before you can even begin to decide on a manufacturing system that is right for your company you are going to need to know about the different manufacturing systems. The good news is that there are only four major types of manufacturing systems, so as long as you know a little about the different types of systems you will be one step closer to being able to decide between the different systems and choose the one that is right for your company.

Here is a look at the different manufacturing systems.

Custom manufacturing:
This is probably one of the oldest manufacturing systems in the world because it goes back to when products where first made. Basically custom manufacturing is where one person has the skill that is needed to make a certain product. A great example of this type of manufacturing is a shoe maker or a candle maker; it used to be that only one person was required to make these customized products. Custom manufacturing is still used today but rather than just one person making the product that is required we have machines that will do the jobs for us. And if people are doing the manufacturing you are going to need more than one person to make the specialized product so you can keep up with the higher demands.

Intermittent manufacturing:
This is also an older style of a manufacturing system. This system was used when custom manufacturing could not meet the demands of the customers. Basically what intermittent manufacturing is would be where more than one of the same product is being made. This type of manufacturing is actually used world wide and it is a great way to make more than one product in a short amount of time, as long as the product is the same product. This type of manufacturing won't work on multiple products. A great example of this type of manufacturing is making five pairs of the same shoe rather than one custom pair of shoes.

Continuous manufacturing:
This is a newer system of manufacturing and it was created when product demands got to be too much for intermittent manufacturing. Basically this manufacturing system is an actual assembly line. This system is usually used when more then one product is being made and it takes more than two people working together to actually make the product. In this type of manufacturing system the product moves from one station to the next and each person at each station has a specific job that they need to do in the manufacturing process. This type of manufacturing system is great if you are producing a product that requires you to complete a lot of steps before it can be considered a finished product, but the drawback to this type of manufacturing system is that it can be expensive to run.

Flexible manufacturing:
This is actually the newest type of manufacturing system that is being used currently. This type of manufacturing system uses machines that are controlled by computers. This type of manufacturing produces a product just like intermitted manufacturing and is continuous like continuous manufacturing, but the thing about this type of manufacturing system is that it cuts out having to hire people for an assembly line. Not to mention that it is also a great way to always make the product faster which is a great way to keep up with the customers demands.

Now that you know about all of the manufacturing systems you are going to need to determine which system will be best for your company. The only way to do this is to know what your company needs and choose the manufacturing company that best meets those needs. Basically if your company needs to mass produce products quickly and save on costs you should look into flexible manufacturing, if you are custom designing a product you should look into custom manufacturing, etc.

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