PART TYPE SELECTION, MACHINE LOADING AND PART TYPE VOLUME DETERMINATION PROBLEMS IN FMS PLANNING

The solution to subproblems of FMS planning problems require an integr ated approach. The mathematical programming approaches, which are ofte n followed, are not suitable for large problems. In this paper, we hav e proposed a three stage approach to solving part type selection, mach ine loading and part type volume determination problems. In contrast t o the usual approach of maximizing the part types in each batch (or mi nimizing the number of batches), we have attempted to maximize the rou teing flexibility of the batches. A heuristic has been proposed for th e part type selection problem and simple mathematical programs for the other two problems. The illustrative examples show that by improving the routeing flexibility of the batches the overall system performance has improved.