A framework for part type selection and scheduling in FMS environments

Abstract

A framework for a two-phase model of planning and scheduling is proposed to select the part type and assign required tools to machines for processing. The planning phase deals with part type assignment and tool assignment, and the scheduling phase deals with the different process plans and dispatching rules. In the planning phase, a linear integer program model of part type selection is formulated and a branch and bound algorithm is used to solve the model. In the scheduling phase, there arc six decision points among the part, machine and AGV. Various dispatching rules at each decision point are evaluated using the simulation model. An FMS with 10 part types, 12 tool types and 5 machines is used to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed framework.