Multi-degree cyclic scheduling of two robots in a no-wait flowshop

Ada Che, Chengbin Chu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

57 Scopus citations

Abstract

This paper addresses multi-degree cyclic scheduling of two robots in a no-wait flowshop, where exactly r(r > 1) identical parts with constant processing times enter and leave the production line during each cycle, and transportation of the parts between machines is performed by two robots on parallel tracks. The objective is to minimize the cycle time. The problem is transformed into enumeration of pairs of overlapping moves that cannot be performed by the same robot. This enumeration is accomplished by enumerating intervals for some linear functions of decision variables. The algorithm developed is polynomial in the number of machines for a fixed r, but exponential if r is arbitrary. Computational results with benchmark instances are reported.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)173-183
Number of pages11
JournalIEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering
Volume2
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2005
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Algorithms
  • Production systems
  • Scheduling

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