Matrix-structured manufacturing systems: literature review and future directions

The rapidly changing market demands and the trend towards mass customisation in modern manufacturing are driving the need for systems that simultaneously offer high throughput and high flexibility. Thus, Matrix-Structured Manufacturing Systems (MMS) have emerged as a promising paradigm response to this challenge. MMS represents a modular, reconfigurable manufacturing paradigm characterised by a matrix layout, independent cycle times, and flexible routing, enabling both operational agility and scalability. This paper presents a comprehensive review of MMS as a novel approach to intelligent manufacturing. Firstly, this paper introduces the origin of MMS through the defects of other manufacturing systems, providing an overview of related concepts, including composition, layout, and features. Subsequently, the paper reviews recent advances in MMS research, organising our discussion along two core dimensions (MMS structure and control). Within these dimensions, five major research areas are identified and critically analysed in terms of enabling technologies and methodologies. Finally, based on the current technological and operational challenges faced by MMS, three major future research directions are proposed and discussed. By integrating conceptual, structural, and technological perspectives, this paper offers a structured foundation for further exploration and development of intelligent manufacturing systems based on the MMS paradigm.