An interactive system for scheduling jobs in electronic assembly

In flexible manufacturing systems (FMS), interaction between the production planner and the scheduling system is essential. This is a typical situatio n in printed circuit board (PCB) assembly. We discuss the structure and ope ration of an inter active scheduling system for surface mount component pri nting involving multiple criteria. The user can compose a schedule by using a heuristic algorithm, but the schedule can also be manipulated directly v ia a graphical user interface. In addition to the system description, we pr esent statistical data of the effect of the system in an actual production environment.