A toy firm produces drums sequentially on three machines - A, B, and C - with cycle times of 3, 4, and 6 minutes.
A) Determine the optimum efficiency and outfput for adding one, two, three, four, five, and six more machines.
B) Assume now that two identical lines are operating, each with machines A, B, and C. If new machines can be shared between lines, how should one, two, and then three new machines be added? What are the resulting efficiencies and outputs of the two lines? Is it always best to equally share extra machines between the two lines?