The Research On The Optimization Algorithm Of Nonstandard Pallet Size

The pallet can replace the heavy manual labor, improve work efficiency, prevent the damage of goods, and improve service quality in logistics activities. A pallet which is suitable for a company or an industry can effectively improve the competitiveness of enterprises. Therefore, it is very important to design a pallet suitable for an industry or a company use.This paper focuses on the pallet-loading of identical boxes, namely the loading of identical boxes on the pallet. The objective is to determine the pallet size related to the minimum area and cost, under the constraint that the number of boxes loaded reaches the required number. The approach of this paper converts the three-dimensional pallet loading problem to a series of two-dimensional knapsack problems. It uses dynamic programming and knapsack idea to solve the three-dimensional pallet loading problem. Firstly, three layouts of the boxes are determined to maximize the numbers of included boxes, where each layout is related with a layer with a different thickness. Secondly, the three layers are taken as items to fill a knapsack with capacity in the height direction, to determine the best layout of the layers. Finally, the minimum pallet size capable to accommodate the required number of boxes is determined by enumerate the layouts of the layers related with all feasible pallet sizes. Promising and non-promising points are defined and their properties are analyzed. The computation time is reduced by skipping non-promising points. Through the analysis of the algorithm structure, the algorithm is implemented in parallel to further reduce the computation time.Finally, using VC++ development tools and OpenGL technology, a 3D pallet loading system (prototype) is developed according to the proposed algorithm. The system can determine the loading planning in a simple way, output the loading plan by layers, sections and boxes. The output of the 3D loading plan is simple to understand and can be rotated to a position adequate for viewing.