RC Car Mass Production Simulation

Objectives

Create a simulation of an RC car manufacturing plant within the context of the MIT LMP shop and identify and address significant bottlenecks to improve throughput.

Outcomes and Contributions

The MIT LMP shop provides the space and equipment needed to produce RC cars, but the current team allocations and machine availability are not optimized for production. My team built a simulation of the shop and the RC car manufacturing line to identify major bottlenecks over a 1‑year production run. I collected cycle‑time and process data from each subteam, along with detailed machine data—MTTF, MTTR, operating costs, and equipment layout. Using this information, we modeled both the existing setup and an optimized version. I then performed a cost analysis showing that the optimized line generated higher profit, confirming the effectiveness of our changes. We presented recommendations to LMP staff to help improve shop productivity.

Technical Details

In 2.810, students work in five subteams to build an RC car using LMP shop equipment. My team extended this concept to estimate the profit from mass‑producing the cars for one year and to evaluate whether reallocating subteams or equipment could improve profitability. I gathered cycle‑time data from each subteam and equipment availability from LMP staff, then used this information to build an AnyLogic simulation. The model revealed bottlenecks at the waterjet, tapping, and drilling stations, while the wheels subteam was underutilized—consistent with our experience in the shop. Reassigning wheels team members and adding one machine to each bottlenecked station increased projected profit by about $40,000. We recommended that LMP add this equipment to improve next year’s course.

Fig. 1 - The RC Car Mass Produced in the Simulation