机械制造专业毕业设计外文翻译.doc

MANUFACTURING ANALYSIS:HOW MUCH FLEXIBILITY? In addition to production systems that fabricate very high quality products,at low cost,and with ultrarapid delivery,many strategic planners and economists point to the need for flexibility. Publications from Japan(Yoshio,1994;Ohsono,1995)express a similar view,and the more recent J.D.Powers comparative surveys on automobiles indicate thatnow that others are closing the quality gap,the Japanese have to compete in other areas(see Rechtin,1994;and the annual J.D.Powers report series).Emphasis is thus place on these combined factors of quality,cost,delivery,and flexibility(QCDF).The ability to react to smaller lot sizes and the quest for ultrarapid delivery are major conconcerns,culminating in the possbility of a three-day car(Iwata et al.,1990_. In an ideal situation,once the various market sectors have been established,production will settle into a groove and be constantly refined and improved but with no major upheavals.Unfortunately,in recent years,manufacturers have not been able to rely on long periods of uninterrupted production because events in the world economy have forced rapid changes in consumer demand and the range of consumer preferences. Henry Fords favorite aphorism-that his cutomers could have any color of car they wanted as long as it was black-is in sharp contrast to todays range of consumer preferences.This has led to the proposal by some academics that manufactering can be built for customized mass production.This sounds nice on first hearing.Howerver,for products like automobiles,the degree of customization can go only so far for a given batch size and price point.Only hyperwealthy CEOs and movie stars can get precise customization in products like automobiles. Nevertheless,an ability to be prepared for any sudden market shifts is becoming more of an issue.As new equipment is purchased,manufacturing companies must decide between harware that is dedicate to only a few tasks and is thus rel