Product/process Design in Mass Placement Printed Circuit Board Assembly *

We describe a set of models that are used to manage the product and process design in a mass placement printed circuit board (PCB) assembly cell. Our models can be divided into two categories. First, we characterize the cell design problem and develop models to design an efficient assembly cell. Second, we present models for optimizing the different operational aspects of the assembly cell. These models were developed to assist the managers of a large electronic manufacturing firm in establishing mass placement PCB assembly cells. (PCB ASSEMBLY; INTEGER PROGRAMMING, DYNAMIC PROGRAMMING)