Abstract: A manufacturing system (20) comprises: one or more stores (84; 80A-80C; 92) for raw materials, work-in-progress (WIP), and finished goods; a plurality of manufacturing cells (40A-40F), each cell includes: one or more machines (42A-42C) for manufacturing an assembly; and a programmable logic controller (PLC) (44) for controlling the machines; one or more devices (60, 70) for moving raw material, WIP, and finished goods; and one or more servers (32) for communicating with the PLCs and the devices. The one or more servers further have programming for: instructing (642) the plurality of manufacturing cells to assemble finished goods from the raw materials; instructing (628, 632) the one or more devices to move said raw materials and finished goods; and just in sequence (JIS) skipped assembly recovery steps (730) for the manufacturing cells and devices.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed for marking hot workpieces which are particularly useful in marking weld defects on hot continuous welded pipe immediately after fabrication. The method involves the application of a controlled flow of glass particles to the workpiece which melt and produce a fusion coating on the workpiece. This glossy fusion coating absorbs the iron scale, penetrates to the base metal and adheres well to the hot workpiece. The coating will remain on the workpiece during cutting, sizing and initial cooling operations. Further cooling causes the coating to crack and expose the base metal leaving a bright metal mark resembling a galvanized surface. An improved glass bead dispensing gun having a modified nozzle and marking tube is used to apply the glass particles. The nozzle and marking tube enables the user to deposit an even flow of glass particles onto the workpiece and shield the gun from the hot workpiece.