Digital Twin Modeling and Simulation Optimization of Transmission Front and Middle Case Assembly Line

As the take-off of China’s macro economy,as well as the rapid development of infrastructure construction,real estate industry,and highway logistics transportation industry,the demand for heavy vehicles is increasing rapidly,the competition is becoming increasingly fierce,and the digital transformation of the production line is imminent.As one of themost important components of heavy vehicles,the transmission front andmiddle case assembly lines have a high degree of automation,which can be used as a pilot for the digital transformation of production.To ensure the visualization of digital twins(DT),consistent control logic,and real-time data interaction,this paper proposes an experimental digital twin modeling method for the transmission front and middle case assembly line.Firstly,theDT-based systemarchitecture is designed,and theDT model is created by constructing the visualization model,logic model,and data model of the assembly line.Then,a simulation experiment is carried out in a virtual space to analyze the existing problems in the current assembly line.Eventually,some improvement strategies are proposed and the effectiveness is verified by a new simulation experiment.

A Multi-Object Genetic Algorithm for the Assembly Line Balance Optimization in Garment Flexible Job Shop Scheduling

Numerous clothing enterprises in the market have a relatively low efficiency of assembly line planning due to insufficient optimization of bottleneck stations.As a result,the production efficiency of the enterprise is not high,and the production organization is not up to expectations.Aiming at the problem of flexible process route planning in garment workshops,a multi-object genetic algorithm is proposed to solve the assembly line bal-ance optimization problem and minimize the machine adjustment path.The encoding method adopts the object-oriented path representation method,and the initial population is generated by random topology sorting based on an in-degree selection mechanism.The multi-object genetic algorithm improves the mutation and crossover operations according to the characteristics of the clothing process to avoid the generation of invalid offspring.In the iterative process,the bottleneck station is optimized by reasonable process splitting,and process allocation conforms to the strict limit of the station on the number of machines in order to improve the compilation efficiency.The effectiveness and feasibility of the multi-object genetic algorithm are proven by the analysis of clothing cases.Compared with the artificial allocation process,the compilation efficiency of MOGA is increased by more than 15%and completes the optimization of the minimum machine adjustment path.The results are in line with the expected optimization effect.

Optimization of assembly line balancing using genetic algorithm

In a manufacturing industry, mixed model assembly line(MMAL) is preferred in order to meet the variety in product demand. MMAL balancing helps in assembling products with similar characteristics in a random fashion. The objective of this work aims in reducing the number of workstations, work load index between stations and within each station. As manual contribution of workers in final assembly line is more, ergonomics is taken as an additional objective function. Ergonomic risk level of a workstation is evaluated using a parameter called accumulated risk posture(ARP), which is calculated using rapid upper limb assessment(RULA) check sheet. This work is based on the case study of an MMAL problem in Rane(Madras) Ltd.(India), in which a problem based genetic algorithm(GA) has been proposed to minimize the mentioned objectives. The working of the genetic operators such as selection, crossover and mutation has been modified with respect to the addressed MMAL problem. The results show that there is a significant impact over productivity and the process time of the final assembled product, i.e., the rate of production is increased by 39.5% and the assembly time for one particular model is reduced to 13 min from existing 18 min. Also, the space required using the proposed assembly line is only 200 m2 against existing 350 m2. Further, the algorithm helps in reducing workers fatigue(i.e., ergonomic friendly).

Effective Hybrid Teaching-learning-based Optimization Algorithm for Balancing Two-sided Assembly Lines with Multiple Constraints

Due to the NP-hardness of the two-sided assembly line balancing （TALB） problem, multiple constraints existing in real applications are less studied, especially when one task is involved with several constraints. In this paper, an effective hybrid algorithm is proposed to address the TALB problem with multiple constraints （TALB-MC）. Considering the discrete attribute of TALB-MC and the continuous attribute of the standard teaching-learning-based optimization （TLBO） algorithm, the random-keys method is hired in task permutation representation, for the purpose of bridging the gap between them. Subsequently, a special mechanism for handling multiple constraints is developed. In the mechanism, the directions constraint of each task is ensured by the direction check and adjustment. The zoning constraints and the synchronism constraints are satisfied by teasing out the hidden correlations among constraints. The positional constraint is allowed to be violated to some extent in decoding and punished in cost fimction. Finally, with the TLBO seeking for the global optimum, the variable neighborhood search （VNS） is further hybridized to extend the local search space. The experimental results show that the proposed hybrid algorithm outperforms the late acceptance hill-climbing algorithm （LAHC） for TALB-MC in most cases, especially for large-size problems with multiple constraints, and demonstrates well balance between the exploration and the exploitation. This research proposes an effective and efficient algorithm for solving TALB-MC problem by hybridizing the TLBO and VNS.

A Heuristic Method for Two-sided Assembly Line Balancing Problem

A two-sided assembly line is typically found in plants producing large-sized products. Its advantages over a one-sided line and the difficulties faced in two-sided line balancing problems were discussed. A mathematical model for two-ALB problem was suggested. A modification of the “ranked positional weight” method, namely two-ALB RPW for two-ALB problems was developed. Experiments were carried out to verify the performance of the proposed method and the results show that it is effective in solving two-sided assembly line balancing problems.

An efficient migrating birds optimization algorithm with idle time reduction for Type-I multi-manned assembly line balancing problem

Multi-manned assembly line,which is broadly utilized to assemble high volume products such as automobiles and trucks,allows a group of workers to assemble different tasks simultaneously in a multi-manned workstation.This additional characteristic of parallel operators increases the complexity of the traditional NP-hard assembly line balancing problem.Hence,this paper formulates the Type-I multi-manned assembly line balancing problem to minimize the total number of workstations and operators,and develops an efficient migrating birds optimization algorithm embedded into an idle time reduction method.In this algorithm,a new decoding mechanism is proposed which reduces the sequence-dependent idle time by some task assignment rules;three effective neighborhoods are developed to make refinement of existing solutions in the bird improvement phases;and temperature acceptance and competitive mechanism are employed to avoid being trapped in the local optimum.Comparison experiments suggest that the new decoding and improvements are effective and the proposed algorithm outperforms the compared algorithms.

MODEL OF OPERATING AND BALANCING ASSEMBLY LINE IN A MASS CUSTOMIZATION ENVIRONMENT

The successful implementation of mass customization lies on reengineeringtechnology and management methods to organize the production. Especially in assembly phase, variousproduct configurations, due-time penalties and order-driven strategy challenge the traditionaloperation and management of assembly lines. The business features and the operation pattern ofassembly line based on mass customization are analyzed. And the research emphatically studiesvarious technologic factors to improve customer satisfaction and their corresponding implementmethods in operating assembly line. In addition, the models are proposed for operating assembly lineunder dynamic process environment in mass customization. A genetic approach is developed to providethe optimal solution to the models. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is evaluated with anindustrial application.

RESEARCH ON EXPERT SYSTEM OF FAULT DETECTION AND DIAGNOSING FOR PNEUMATIC SYSTEM OF AUTOMATIC PRODUCTION LINE

Fault detection and diagnosis for pneumatic system of automatic productionline are studied. An expert system using fuzzy-neural network and pneumatic circuit fault diagnosisinstrument are deigned. The mathematical model of various pneumatic faults and experimental deviceare built. In the end, some experiments are done, which shows that the expert system usingfuzzy-neural network can diagnose fast and truly fault of pneumatic circuit.

Realization of embedded control module for micro assembly line

A modularized, network, reconfigurable architecture and design method of embedded control module is proposed. This control module uses a TMS320F2812 chip as the core, and intro- duces modularization, network, reconfigurable theory to the design of control module to better meet the flexible and reconfigurable control need of assembly line. The design method of the control module is verified by constructing a control experiment based on controlling of precision x - y displace- ment platform through a CAN bus. Experimental results show that the controlling repeat position accuracy of precision x - y platform by control module is 0. 5 μm and the position error is less than 1μm which meet the needs of micro-adjustment pose of assembly line.

Schedule for Garment Assembly Line Based on Genetic Algorithm

A new way to solve the scheduling problem ofgarment assembly line based on genetic algorithmwas proposed. The chromosome was decoded usingtask precedence relation and after the operation ofreproduction, crossover and mutation, the globaloptimal result can be obtained. Fitness function wasrepresented by smoothness Index ( SI ). Thesimulation shows that the method proposed in thispaper is better than the conventional way and theoptimized solution can be got in this way.

Assembly Line Balancing Based on Double Chromosome Genetic Algorithm

Aiming at assembly line balancing problem,a double chromosome genetic algorithm(DCGA)is proposed to avoid trapping in local optimum,which is a disadvantage of standard genetic algorithm(SGA).In this algorithm,there are two chromosomes of each individual,and the better one,regarded as dominant chromosome,determines the fitness.Dominant chromosome keeps excellent gene segments to speed up the convergence,and recessive chromosome maintains population diversity to get better global search ability to avoid local optimal solution.When the amounts of chromosomes are equal,the population size of DCGA is half that of SGA,which significantly reduces evolutionary time.Finally,the effectiveness is verified by experiments.

A scenario relaxation algorithm for finite scenario based robust assembly line balancing

A balancing problem for a mixed model assembly line with uncertain task processmg Ume anO daily model mixed changes is considered, and the objective is to minimize the work variances between stations in the line. For the balancing problem for the scenario-based robust assembly line with a finitely large number of potential scenarios, the direct solution methodology considering all potential scenarios is quite time-consuming. A scenario relaxation algorithm that embeds genetic al- gorithm is developed. This new algorithm guarantees termination at an optimal robust solution with relatively short running time, and makes it possible to solve robust problems with large quantities of potential scenarios. Extensive computational results are reported to show the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Assembly-Line Health Check up in Digitalized Hospital

The health check up flow of digital hospital can be consulted with the assem bly line of industry factory.Because they have the following same features:highly specialized workstation, closeness and continuance,rhythm,balanced production,continuous production.The essential prerequisites are as the follows:The inspecting item s and methods should be stable;advanced product mix and stable production design;standardized raw m aterial,consumption,procedure, inspection method;there are lots of request for health inspection;the customers move at the least unit;the space arrangement should be reasonable;the time arrangement should be proportion. With the com puter net,the digital inspection can achieves the raw material controlling accurately. The basis of check up line concerns about equipm ent,net and software,data collection,and per- sonnel.The group technology is used in the health inspection flow design of the digital hospital in the field of items custom ers and zone redivided.The digital assembly linem ic health inspect has the following stages:m ember registering,notice,check in,arrange order,tim e control,report,feed- back and analysis. The assem bly linemic has following advantages:increasing the productivity, the space utility,satisfaction of customer,fund returning,lowering the cost and ensuring the quality.

Multi-objectives and Simulation Models for Develop Production Line in Automobiles Manufacturing System

Automotive manufacturing is complex and includes the coordination of design in the manufacturing system. The manufacturing approaches over the past few years, disassembly have been a key issue, and it seems that simulation models are usually tailored to address a narrow set of industrial issues. This paper describes the development of the production line in the automobile manufacturing system through design, operation, and maintenance, based on multi-objectives of Algorithm and Simulation Model called MOA-SM. The both models are being developed at three different levels： the production line in the body and assembly shop, supply chain, and the production plan. The optimization tries to involve more objectives to solve the issues in manufacturing system. A solution that may optimize one performance measure may deteriorate since other performance solutions are difficult. The resulting algorithms are comparable to the simulation and multi-object in terms of success rate, assembly times, peak forces, moments, and have assembly times superior to those of a benchmark blind search algorithm.

CONCURRENT PRODUCT PORTFOLIO PLANNING AND MIXED PRODUCT ASSEMBLY LINE BALANCING

Reconfigurable products and manufacturing systems have enabled manufacturers to provide ＂cost effective＂ variety to the market. In spite of these new technologies, the expense of manufacturing makes it infeasible to supply all the possible variants to the market for some industries. Therefore, the determination of the right number of product variantsto offer in the product portfolios becomes an important consideration. The product portfolio planning problem had been independently well studied from marketing and engineering perspectives. However, advantages can be gained from using a concurrent marketing and engineering approach. Concurrent product development strategies specifically for reconfigurable products and manufacturing systems can allow manufacturers to select best product portfolios from marketing, product design and manufacturing perspectives. A methodology for the concurrent design of a product portfolio and assembly system is presented. The objective of the concurrent product portfolio planning and assembly system design problem is to obtain the product variants that will make up the product portfolio such that oversupply of optional modules is minimized and the assembly line efficiency is maximized. Explicit design of the assembly system is obtained during the solution of the problem. It is assumed that the demand for optional modules and the assembly times for these modules are known a priori. A genetic algorithm is used in the solution of the problem. The basic premise of this methodology is that the selected product portfolio has a significant impact on the solution of the assembly line balancing problem. An example is used to validate this hypothesis. The example is then further developed to demonstrate how the methodology can be used to obtain the optimal product portfolio. This approach is intended for use by manufacturers during the early design stages of product family design.

Heuristics for Mixed Model Assembly Line Balancing Problem with Sequencing

The growing global competition compels organizations to use many productivity improvement techniques. In this direction, assembly line balancing helps an organization to design its assembly line such that its balancing efficiency is maximized. If the organization assembles more than one model in the same line, then the objective is to maximize the average balancing efficiency of the models of the mixed model assembly line balancing problem. Maximization of average balancing efficiency of the models along with minimization of makespan of sequencing models forms a multi-objective function. This is a realistic objective function which combines the balancing efficiency and makespan. This assembly line balancing problem with multi-objective comes under combinatorial category. Hence, development of meta-heuristic is inevitable. In this paper, an attempt has been made to develop three genetic algorithms for the mixed model assembly line balancing problem such that the average balancing efficiency of the model is maximized and the makespan of sequencing the models is minimized. Finally, these three algorithms and another algorithm in literature modified to solve the mixed-model assembly line balancing problem are compared in terms of the stated multi-objective function using a randomly generated set of problems through a complete factorial experiment.

Application of PFMEA for Identification of Self-Recovering Failures in Production Lines for Automatic Assembly of Capacitors

Quality control is an important part of the capacitors automatic assembly process. Traditionally this control is being realized through a series of electrical measurements including capacity, tension, and tgct. In most cases, these measurements are not suitable for detecting defects that appear as a result of failures of certain elements of the assembly lines. These so called self-recovering failures very often remain unnoticed, because they do not cause a suspension of the assembly process and if not taken into consideration, they can seriously menace the final product quality. In this paper, the authors use PFMEA to identify and evaluate the risk of the self-recovering failures. They also propose a simple Simulink model, which could be useful when trying to estimate the effect of installing new control devices at an existing assembly line upon its overall reliability and productivity.

Application Research of assembly line modeling based on Time Petri Net

With the continuous progress of manufacturing industry,automatic assembly line has become a very mature production mode in modern factories,and the quality of assembly line design has become an important issue related to the development of manufacturing enterprises.In this paper,a graphical model based on Petri Net is established for the first full load time of the assembly line.The accessibility of the P/T system and the production rhythm of the assembly line are calculated by computer simulation.Finally,according to the simulation model,an experimental platform is built to verify the rationality of the model.Experimental results show that the model can accurately express the equipment allocation process of assembly line.

Analysis of Potential Failure Modes in an Assembly Line by Fuzzy Expert Systems

The failure modes and effects analysis （FMEA） is widely applied in manufacturing industries in various phases of the product life cycle to evaluate the system, its design and processes for failures that can occur. The FMEA team often demonstrates different opinions and these different types of opinions are very difficult to incorporate into the FMEA by the traditional risk priority number model. In this paper, for each of the Occurrence, Severity and Detectivity parameters a fuzzy set is defined and the opinion of each FMEA team members is considered. These opinions are considered simultaneously with weights that are given to each individual based on their skills and experience levels. In addition, the opinion of the costumer is considered for each of the FMEA parameters. Then, the Risk Priority Numbers （RPN） is calculated using a Multi Input Single Output （MISO） fuzzy expert system. The proposed model is applied for prioritizing the failures of Peugeot 206 Engine assembly line in IKCo （Iran Khodro Company）.

A Modified Multi-Agent System for Simple Assembly Line Balancing

In this paper, a modified multi-agent system for assembly line balancing is proposed. Each worker in the assembly line is regarded as an agent, and two neighboring agents exchange information about the allocated tasks. To balance the workload, an agent with a smaller workload sends a request message to his/her neighboring agent, who has a larger workload, to exchange tasks between them. Without any centralized control mechanism, each agent behaves to achieve their goal, which is to balance the workload. A tabu list and cooling control are also incorporated. However, the effectiveness of the previous system is limited, and the system depends on problems to be solved. As such, a modified system is proposed. In the proposed system, the cycle time is used when considering the proposal of exchange of allocated tasks instead of the task time allocated to the neighboring workers. Also, in the proposed system, the length of tabu list is determined dynamically based on the current number of possible exchanges, and the best cycle time in the search with cooling at medium speed is recorded for the second search that is finished when the current cycle time reaches the recorded cycle time. The effectiveness of the modified system is investigated by solving problems for various conditions. The results show that the proposed system is effective regardless of the problems that are encountered.