A mathematical model of operation allocation and materials handling system selection problems in a flexible manufacturing system

Materials handling systems are an integrating component of a manufacturing system and as such must be considered within an integrated approach to manufacturing systems design. This work proposes to integrate the operation allocation and the materials handling system selection problems in a flexible manufacturing system by extending the operation allocation model to include some aspects of materials handling system design. The objective of the operation allocation model is to select a group of machines where the operations of the part types will be performed and then to assign those operations to the selected machines. The operation allocation model interfaces with the materials handling system selection model by providing input data in the form of the manufacturing operations to be performed at each machining center. The selection of the materials handling system is centered on the matching of the parts visiting a machining center to perform a manufacturing operation and the abilities of the handling equipment to perform the required materials handling functions of those part types. The objective is to select an optimal group of materials handling equipment to be assigned to a cell. A computer program was developed to greatly automate the process of solving the models. This allows the program to be used as a rapid modeling tool.