How can a change in product design make factory machinery obsolete?

In mass production, factory machinery is often precisely adapted to the specific details of the parts being manufactured to maximize efficiency. Because these systems are inherently inflexible, a change in product design can render expensive tooling and specialized machinery obsolete, as they may no longer be compatible with the new specifications.1

To mitigate this risk, manufacturers may incorporate built-in flexibility into their systems, allowing for tooling changes at a relatively low cost to accommodate design updates. Alternatively, industries may utilize a flexible manufacturing system (FMS). Unlike a rigid assembly line, an FMS uses a central computer to coordinate various machine tools, enabling the system to process different product styles or adapt to changes in product mix without requiring the replacement of the entire production infrastructure.123