Exhaustive Search Based Heuristic for Solving Machine Layout Problem in Reconfigurable Manufacturing System Design

摘要

Reconfigurable manufacturing systems (RMS) are designed to overcome the shortcomings of conventional manufacturing systems in terms of effectiveness and responsiveness facing the increasingly influencing factors imposed on the manufacturing environment by unpredictable market condition and global competition. RMS is required to be more robust, flexible and reconfigurable, which makes machine layout problem a key step to fulfill such design. Thus, any proposed layout needs to be changeable and easily redesigned. In this paper, we consider the machine layout problem in reconfigurable context. We develop an exhaustive search based heuristic to solve it. To propose the best respective machine layout, the heuristic considers various constraints from the manufacturing environment, and the initial generated process plan for the designed RMS under performance metrics. The proposed layout must at its best, respects both the constraints imposed by the generated process plan and those depicting the available location in the shop floor where machines are going to be placed. An illustrative numerical example is proposed to demonstrate the applicability of our approach.