Multiobjective modelling and analysis of process planning in a manufacturing system

Abstract

The process planning problem considered in this paper involves multiparts to be processed on an NC machine with multi-tools and fixtures. Each part has a number of alternative process plans. For each plan we identify three criteria: cost, time and the Hamming distance, which are often conflicting. It is therefore required to seek a trade–off between the conflicting requirements; we use a min-max approach to make such a trade-off. An illustrative example is included. The results are analysed in detail, considering their utility in scheduling in a flexible manufacturing environment particularly from the viewpoint of routing flexibility.