The majority of rubber-molded product manufacturers are aware that automation will enable them to be more competitive. However, few fully comprehended how automation works. Additionally, the risks and advantages are not clearly understood, which results in poor assumptions during the process planning stages for a project. This paper explore parallel automation types that are neither fully manual nor fully automated systems. Such systems represent a much better fit for the majority of parts produced. It will examine the trade offs of traditional systems and how flexible automation can reduce these disadvantages. It will also examine how such systems fall short of the ideal solution, yet extol the overall benefits realized when implementing such a system.