There are many definitions of Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS). The US National Bureau of Standards defines FMS as: "Some devices connected by a transmission system, the transmission device places the workpiece on other coupling devices. It is sent to various processing equipment to make the workpiece processing accurate, rapid and automated. The central computer controls the machine tool and the transmission system, and the flexible manufacturing system can process several different parts at the same time."
The International Association of Production Engineering Research states that "a flexible manufacturing system is an automated manufacturing system that can produce any range of product families with minimal human intervention. The flexibility of the system is often limited by the product family considered in the design of the system."
The Chinese National Military Standard is defined as "the flexible manufacturing system is an automated manufacturing system consisting of CNC machining equipment, material handling equipment and computer control systems. It includes multiple flexible manufacturing units that can be rapidly changed according to manufacturing tasks or production environments. Adjustments are applicable to multi-variety, medium and small batch production.” FMS is an automated manufacturing that consists of several numerical control equipment, material storage and computer control systems, and can be quickly adjusted according to manufacturing tasks and production varieties system.
Flexible manufacturing technology, also known as flexible integrated manufacturing technology, is the collective name for modern advanced manufacturing technology. The flexible manufacturing technology integrates automation technology, information technology and manufacturing technology into one. It integrates the engineering design, manufacturing, management and other processes in the former factory enterprises with the support of computers, software and databases to form a whole enterprise. Organic system.