Different structures of manufacturing systems in low production demand

Since more than 100 years ago a simple assembly line was introduced in the American Ford automotive factory. Nowadays we can find papers and books with description of different structures and different kinds of production. This article deals with the problem of low production demand which is coming from the market and considers three different manufacturing structures: single (straight) assembly line, U-line and assembly round table. The description of all above mentioned structures is given. The fundamental assumptions according to balancing problem are shown. Selected heuristics methods for solving assembly line balancing problem are described. Advantages and disadvantages of these structures are considered. Also numerical examples are calculated and final results are estimated (smoothness index, line efficiency, time of line, number of turns for rotating round table). At the end the conclusions and remarks are presented.