Article ID: | iaor2005191 |
Country: | United Kingdom |
Volume: | 14 |
Issue: | 5 |
Start Page Number: | 489 |
End Page Number: | 500 |
Publication Date: | Oct 2001 |
Journal: | International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing |
Authors: | Chen Shiang-Fong, Liu Yong-Jin |
Assembly sequence planning is a combinatorial optimization problem with highly nonlinear geometric constraints. Most proposed solution methodologies are based on graph theory and involve complex geometric and physical analyses. As a result, even for a simple structure, it is difficult to take all important criteria into account and find real-world solutions. This paper proposes an adaptive genetic algorithm (AGA) for efficiently finding global-optimal or near-global optimal assembly sequences. The difference between an adaptive genetic algorithm and a classical genetic algorithm is that genetic-operator probabilities for an adaptive genetic algorithm are varied according to certain rules, but genetic-operator probabilities for a classical genetic algorithm are fixed. For our AGA, we build a simulation function to preestimate our GA search process, use our simulation function to calculate optimal genetic-operator probability settings for a given structure, and then use our calculated genetic-operator probability settings to dynamically optimize our AGA search for an optimal assembly sequence. Experimental results show that our adaptive genetic assembly-sequence planner solves combinatorial assembly problems quickly, reliably, and accurately.