๐งช [Plant Simulation Study #04] – Pressing Line Simulation (Car Door Stamping Process)
๐ฌ Overview
In this post, I’d like to share the fourth demo built using Plant Simulation.
This model simulates a pressing (stamping) line used to produce car doors, one of the key components in automotive body manufacturing.
The line consists of multiple press machines arranged in sequence, and the simulation was designed to analyze the production flow, identify bottlenecks, and visualize queue times between stations.
- Purpose: Analyze production flow and bottlenecks in a multi-stage pressing line
- Used Features: Frame, Station, Method, Gantt Chart, MU Attributes, etc.
๐ ๏ธ Key Simulation Structure
| Process Flow | Aluminium Feed → Press Stage 1 → Stage 2 → Stage 3 → positioner and welding |
| Routing Strategy | Fixed sequential routing between presses |
| Modeling Focus | Synchronization between presses, buffer delays, throughput analysis |
| Used Tools | Structured Frame design, Method scripting, Gantt Chart visualization |
๐ Results & Insights
The simulation revealed frequent queueing and bottlenecks at Press Stage 2.
This indicates that optimizing either cycle times or buffer capacities between stages can improve overall throughput.
With the help of the Gantt Chart tool, we could also quantitatively evaluate utilization and idle time for each press, allowing us to assess how balanced the line is.
๐ง Final Thoughts
This demo goes beyond simple flow modeling and emphasizes inter-equipment synchronization and performance analysis.
While a real-world press line would also include transfer devices, safety buffers, and possibly robot arms, this model focuses on core simulation logic and layout design.
In future iterations, I plan to expand it by introducing automated transfer systems or multi-product production scenarios for a more advanced study.