An agent-based collaborative platform for the design of assembly lines

Abstract

This paper presents an internet-based approach for the performance of assembly line balancing and design in an integrated manner. The resulting software is capable of generating, simulating and evaluating a series of alternative assembly line configurations and is implemented as a cloud service, taking into account diverse market and manufacturing scenarios. The platform, which the discrete applications are based on, is a multi-agent system comprising different software agents, which assist engineers in the collaboration processes. Special focus is given to the problem of designing mixed-model assembly lines based on the existing engineering information with new calculations. A multi-agent framework and a common data repository are used for the integration of the stakeholders along the engineering chain. The proposed approach is demonstrated through an automotive case study.

Keywords:

• line balancing
• cloud computing
• collaborative engineering
• multi-agent system
• assembly line simulation
• extended Engineering

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank EDAG GmbH & Co. KGaA for their feedback.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was partially supported by the project Know4Car IP/FoF-ICT-2011.7.4 – 284602, funded by the European Commission in the 7th Framework Programme.