Abstract
The major components of an engine are engine block (or cylinder block), cylinder head, crank shaft, connecting rod and cam shaft. Thus the engine shop usually consists of six sub-lines, five machining lines and one assembly line. Flow line is the typical concept of layout for machining these parts, especially for engine block. In order to design an engine block machining line, several factors should be considered such as yearly production target, working hours, machines, tools, material handling equipments and so on. If the designers of manufacturing line were unaware of some factors those would be influenced on the system performance, it would make greater problems in the phase of mass production. Therefore the initial design of engine block machining line should be verified carefully. Simulation is the most powerful tool for analyzing the initial layout. This paper introduces the major factors those should be considered for designing the machining line and their effects on the system performance. 3D simulation models are developed with QUEST. Using the simulation model developed the initial layout is analyzed, and we suggest some ideas for improvement.
