Solutions

Factory layout design

Remove the guesswork from designing or optimizing your factory layouts.

Easy to use

We offer an intuitive interface that simplifies factory layout design. Quickly design, optimize and adjust layouts with minimal training.

Minimize risks

Our accurate simulation capabilities help users identify and mitigate risks in the layout, ensuring a safer and more efficient manufacturing environment.

Test ideas

Visual Components lets you quickly test various layout scenarios, providing the flexibility to experiment with different designs and find the most effective solution for any manufacturing challenge.

Maximizing efficiency in factory design

Factory layout design is essential for optimizing manufacturing processes, involving careful selection and placement of equipment to achieve specific goals. It comes in two forms: greenfield, where new facilities are designed from the ground up, and brownfield, where existing layouts are revised to improve efficiency within existing constraints. This strategic approach ensures that every aspect of the factory layout, from material movement to equipment relationships, aligns with the organization’s objectives and maximizes operational efficiency.

Defining and launching a project

Launching a factory layout project involves setting formal goals, defining scope, and identifying constraints and stakeholders, especially challenging in brownfield scenarios with limited space and ongoing production. The process begins with broad concepts to engage multiple stakeholders, progressing through iterative development, presentation, and revision of layout options.

A key challenge is conveying the practical functionality of the proposed layout, where tools like Visual Components’ graphical discrete event simulation prove invaluable in demonstrating the layout’s effectiveness in various scenarios. This structured approach ensures thorough planning and stakeholder alignment for successful project execution.

Factory layout design with Visual Components

Factory layout design is a detailed, iterative process, requiring refinement as new data on equipment and operations emerge.

Tools like Visual Components expedite this optimization, emphasizing accuracy in modeling based on operation times, dimensions, and more. Validation is achieved by matching simulated outcomes with actual production results. This approach goes beyond basic CAD, using real-time simulation to ensure a functional, efficient, and adaptable factory environment.

Plant layout design process

How do you get started with plant layout design? Here, we provide a step-by-step example using Visual Components to help you get started.

Understand your operational needs

Begin by mapping out the specific needs of your manufacturing process. Consider aspects such as available floor space, the equipment you currently use or plan to use, and the desired flow of your production line. For instance, if you’re looking to transition from a manual to an automated process, you’ll need to account for this in your layout.

Begin with the initial design

With Visual Components, you can start by sketching an initial draft of your factory’s layout. Depending on your specific needs, you can choose between a 2D blueprint or a detailed 3D model. A unique feature is the capability to overlay a static 3D layout on a 2D building layout, ensuring spatial accuracy and feasibility right from the start.

Integrate equipment into the design

Integrate your machinery and tools into the 3D layout. Considering their size, motion restrictions, and other parameters, Visual Components ensures they fit precisely within the designated space. With access to the eCatalog library boasting over 3,000 pre-defined components in Visual Components, finding and integrating the right equipment for your factory has never been easier.

Configure and design your layouts with Visual Components

Optimize the layout

The platform’s intuitive ‘drag and drop’ functionality lets you position each component where it best suits your operations. Rearrange, adjust, and settle on a design that maximizes space utilization and efficiency.

Define your manufacturing flow

Focus on detailing the progression of products and processes. The tool assists in ensuring there’s a smooth, logical transition from one operation to another, paving the way for a seamless manufacturing flow.

Engage in realistic simulations

Visualize your factory in action with dynamic 3D simulations. This feature not only provides a realistic preview of your facility but also serves as a diagnostic tool. Identify potential operational bottlenecks and troubleshoot them before they arise in the real-world setting.

Refinement and feedback

The iterative design process allows you to make necessary adjustments based on the insights gained from simulations. After tweaking, you can validate the efficiency and practicality of your design, ensuring it’s optimized for real-world application.