A SIMULATOR OF THE MANUFACTURING OF INDUCTION-MOTORS

This paper presents a simulator of the manufacturing process of induct ion motors. Its main purpose is to provide feedback in the form of mot or cost and production scheduling during the process of motor design. The paper concentrates on modeling and simulating a factory, modeling production costs, and providing examples of how the design of electric motors can be improved by taking manufacturing information into accou nt via software. The simulator uses principles of system dynamics and technical cost modeling to model the flows of materials and the evolut ion of product through manufacturing stages across the factory floor. The inputs to the simulator are blueprint data for motor design, and t he status of the factory. The output from the simulator is cost and sc hedule information. The simulator also provides a mechanism whereby de sign variables can be tested for variations that produce cost improvem ents.