A "Minimum Viable System" (MVS) refers to the most basic yet functional version of a manufacturing setup required to produce a product efficiently and effectively with the least amount of resources and complexity. The concept draws from the "Minimum Viable Product" (MVP) principle, which focuses on launching a product with enough features to attract early adopters and provide feedback for future product development.
It is important with MVS not to go "back to the stone age". an MVS can be fully automated - if that is what is required for manufacturing - but an ideal MVS should ideally not be larger, more complex, or more costly than absolutely required to acheive the proper quality and rate of manufacturing needed.
First principles thinking when it comes to systems should start with the product characteristics:
For whatever material the product is made of/from, look at every possible manufacturing method that can accommodate that material, including those which may not readily exist
If the product