Page 65 - Robotics Designing the Mechanisms for Automated Machinery

54 Concepts and Layouts

FIGURE 2.15 Circular timing diagram.
Washing machine: 1) Rinsing; 2) Heating;
3) Water inlet; 4) Water outlet; 5) Drying;
6) Washing powder insertion.

unsatisfactory. A possible approach which is often used is to carry out the different
operations simultaneously. The general case for this principle is illustrated by the
diagram in Figure 2.16. Let us suppose that the manufacture of some product by a
certain machine takes the time T and consists of three steps A, B, and C; by running
three such machines the product can be manufactured within an average time t where
t = T/3. When the three machines are combined into a single machine, the advantage
will be even greater because one machine (even a complicated one) is cheaper, takes
less space, etc. Figure 2.16a) shows the case where the three operations A, B, and C are

FIGURE 2.16. Timing diagrams, a) Operations run in series
in a machine; b) Simultaneous execution of a number of
operations in a single machine.