1999 Volume 50 Issue 4 Pages 198-206
This paper discussed and assembly scheduling problem for multi-type printed circuit boards (PCBs) in a PCB assembly center with multiple pick-insertion heads. The scheduling problem consists of a reel positioning problem (RPP) and an insertion sequencing problem (ISP) for each type of PCB. First, we formulate the overall problem into a 0-1 integer program and show that optimal reel positioning is continuous. Then, utilizing this property, we develop a composite algorithm which alternately solves the RPP by evolution strategy (ES) and the ISP for each PCB by two-optimal (2-opt) local search heuristics. We apply the algorithm to an actual industrial problem and show that the composite schedule achieves a 20% reduction in the total assembly time of the current schedule.
