The first step of factory layout design is planning for the equipment needed to produce an item in a particular amount of time. During planning, you will identify optimal throughput and potential bottlenecks. The next step is to gain an accurate representation of your facility using CAD or point cloud data. Last, you would place equipment into your factory layout. This step can be accelerated by using libraries of configurable assets available in Factory Design Utilities.

Factory design is done by people in production engineering roles, such as industrial engineers. Architects and contractors should contribute building data, which is useful for giving context to the factory design and avoiding issues during equipment installation. Many downstream stakeholders like facilities managers can benefit from factory designs when they are available as accessible 3D models and integrated with building data.

Mechanical engineers in industrial equipment manufacturing companies design the machines that go into a factory.

Factory planning is the process of deciding what equipment is needed to produce items in a particular amount of time. Factory planning begins at the earliest stages of product planning, along with research, product definition, market strategy, and business case development. However, most of the work of factory planning takes place during process development and should occur concurrently with product and factory design.

Factory planning is important because companies that plan factory layouts early are better able to satisfy budget constraints by minimizing overtime and cost overruns. By planning early and capturing intellectual property, the impact of factory design can be extended beyond the imminent need and used for future projects.

The stages of factory planning are production planning, factory design, and validation. The results of these stages feed inputs into future projects and lay the groundwork for the entire lifecycle of the factory.

Factory planning often begins with a 1D representation of the production line flow, which can be achieved in AutoCAD with Promodel. Calculations include machine utilization, equipment maintenance, and estimated downtime. This simplified view enables the designer to make quick changes and generate what-if scenarios to arrive at an optimal design for an efficient factory layout with healthy output. Later, during factory design, 2D and 3D CAD tools like AutoCAD, Inventor, and Factory Design Utilities are the preferred tools.

Factory layouts help production engineering teams gain insights critical to informing decisions across the factory’s lifecycle. These insights include:

• The time and distance a product must move from machine to machine
• Space requirements
• How many machine operators are needed
• Throughput of the product
• Machine utilization
• Power consumption
• Installation plans
• Potential clashes during installation or production

Factory design is important because of the high complexity and cost associated with implementing a factory layout. Unexpected and unplanned changes can have a significant business impact. Early and accurate planning and digital factory design help mitigate these business risks and avoid future problems.

The factory layout is the groundwork of a digital factory. It impacts the entire lifecycle of the factory, including planning, building, and operating. After the factory layout is installed and operating, data from physical equipment can be captured and fed into a digital equipment library for better accuracy on future projects. This data can also be used to inform modifications of the existing project.

The four types of factory layout are: process, product, fixed-position, and cellular.