Configuration of machining lines for mass production: a mixed approach

This paper deals with the optimization of machining lines for mass production. Such a line consists of a sequence of machines equipped with several spindle heads each. A spindle head performs all its operations simultaneously. At the preliminary design stage, the goal is to assign all the operations to spindle heads and machines minimizing the number of machines and spindle heads required. This is a new line balancing problem. An optimization approach is suggested. It is based conjointly on the use of decomposition and exact and heuristic methods. The results of numerical tests made on instances similar to real industrial problems are presented and analyzed.