HEURISTIC ALGORITHM FOR THE TOOL MOVEMENT POLICY IN FLEXIBLE MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS

We consider the tool loading problem in flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs) in which each part visits only one machine for its entire process. In these FMSs, if a machine does not have on its tool magazine the tools needed for a part assigned to it, it can borrow tools from other machine(s) or a tool crib or use alternative tools. The problem is to assign parts and tools to machines to minimize the number of tool transfers among machines. A heuristic solution is developed considering similarity among parts. The heuristic is compared with an optimal solution (for small-sized problems) and with an existing heuristic (for medium to large-sized problems). Also presented are computational results that show the effects of two tool redundancy policies (using alternative tools and using multiple tools for each tool type) on system performance.