Production Planning in Automated Manufacturing

In this book quantitative approaches are proposed for production planning problems in automated manufacturing. In particular, techniques from operations research provide ways to tackle these problems. Special attention is given to the efficient use of tools in automated manufacturing systems. The book presents models and tests solution strategies for different kinds of production decision problems. A case study in the manufacturing of printed circuit boards highlights the methodology. The book will help to understand the nature of production planning problems in automated manufacturing and show how techniques from operations research may contribute to their solution.

1 Automated manufacturing.- 1.1 Introduction.- 1.2 Production planning for FMSs.- 1.3 Overview of the monograph.- 2 Throughput rate optimization in the automated assembly of printed circuit boards.- 2.1 Introduction.- 2.2 Technological environment.- 2.3 The throughput rate optimization problem.- 2.4 Workload balancing.- 2.5 Scheduling of individual machines.- 2.6 An example.- 3 Approximation algorithms for three-dimensional assignment problems with triangle inequalities.- 3.1 Introduction.- 3.2 Complexity of T? and S?.- 3.3 Approximation algorithms.- 3.4 Computational results.- 4 Scheduling jobs of equal length: complexity, facets and computational results.- 4.1 Introduction.- 4.2 Complexity of SEL.- 4.3 The LP-relaxation of SEL.- 4.4 More facet-defining and valid inequalities for SEL.- 4.5 A cutting-plane algorithm for SEL.- 5 The tool loading problem: an overview.- 5.1 Introduction.- 5.2 Machine flexibility and tool management.- 5.3 Modeling the magazine capacity constraint.- 5.4 Solving the batch selection problem.- 5.5 Grouping of parts and tools.- 5.6 Tool switching.- 6 A column generation approach to job grouping.- 6.1 Introduction.- 6.2 Lower bounds.- 6.3 Upper bounds.- 6.4 Implementation.- 6.5 Computational experiments.- 6.6 Summary and conclusions.- 7 The job grouping problem for flexible manufacturing systems: some extensions.- 7.1 Introduction.- 7.2 Multiple slots.- 7.3 Multiple machines.- 7.4 Other extensions.- 7.5 Summary and conclusions.- 8 A local search approach to job grouping.- 8.1 Introduction.- 8.2 Local search environment.- 8.3 Local search approaches.- 8.4 Computational experiments.- 8.5 Summary and conclusions.- 9 Minimizing the number of tool switches on a flexible machine.- 9.1 Introduction.- 9.2 Basic results.- 9.3 Heuristics.- 9.4Computational experiments.- 9.5 Lower bounds.- Appendix: Graph-theoretic definitions.- References.