In this paper a process-oriented simulator for assembly lines is presented. The simulator considers mixed model lines, with stochastic task times, the possibility to have parallel stations, and to consider different scheduling sequences. The simulator is a flexible supporting tool in finding solution of the assembly line balancing problem (and the optimal sequencing problem associated to it) an...

In a "Self-Balancing Production Line", each worker is assigned work dynamically, thus they can keep the balanced production under satisfying the specific conditions. For structure of line, in-tree assembly network line has been analyzed in previous paper. In that paper, line are virtually integrated to one and slowest to fastest sequence can be balanced under the integrated line. However, if an...

Assembly line balancing (ALB) and sequencing is an active area of optimization research in operations management. The concept of an assembly line (AL) came to the fact when the finished product is inclined to the perception of product modularity. Usually interchangeable parts of the final product are assembled in sequence using best possibly designed logistics in an AL. The initial stage of con...

Line balancing is an effective tool to improve the throughput of assembly line while reducing nonvalue-added activities, cycle time. LB is the problem of assigning operation to workstation along an assembly line, in such a way that assignment is optimal in some sense. This paper mainly focuses on improving overall efficiency of single model assembly line by reducing the non value added activiti...

this paper considers a two-stage assembly flow shop problem (tafsp) where m machines are in the first stage and an assembly machine is in the second stage. the objective is to minimize a weighted sum of earliness and tardiness time for n available jobs. jit seeks to identify and eliminate waste components including over production, waiting time, transportation, inventory, movement and defective...

Assembly lines are the most commonly used method for a mass production environment. Their main purpose is to increase efficiency by maximizing the ratio between throughput and required costs. However, in the last few decades, market demands have changed enormously. The emphasis is now on shorter lead times, larger product variety, higher quality and more customized options. At the same time, so...

Certain high speed industrial assembly robots share a peculiar three legged parallel architecture wherein three “hips”, attached to a fixed upper base or “pelvis”, actuate “thighs” connected by “knees” to “shins”. Each shin is a parallelogramic four-bar linkage. “Ankles” are connected to a common end effector “foot” which executes spatial translatory motion. Inverse and direct kinematic analyse...

Assembly line balancing is a classic ill-structured problem where total enumeration is infeasible and optimal solutions uncertain for industrial problems. A quantitative approach to classifying problem difficulty and solution quality is therefore important. Two existing measures of difficulty, Order Strength and West Ratio are compared to a new compound expression of difficulty, Project Index. ...