Optimization of Line Configuration and Balancing for Flexible Machining Lines

Line configuration and balancing is to select the type of line and allot a given set of operations as well as machines to a sequence of workstations to realize high-efficiency production. Most of the current researches for machining line configuration and balancing problems are related to dedicated transfer lines with dedicated machine workstations. With growing trends towards great product variety and fluctuations in market demand, dedicated transfer lines are being replaced with flexible machining line composed of identical CNC machines. This paper deals with the line configuration and balancing problem for flexible machining lines. The objective is to assign operations to workstations and find the sequence of execution, specify the number of machines in each workstation while minimizing the line cycle time and total number of machines. This problem is subject to precedence, clustering, accessibility and capacity constraints among the features, operations, setups and workstations. The mathematical model and heuristic algorithm based on feature group strategy and polychromatic sets theory are presented to find an optimal solution. The feature group strategy and polychromatic sets theory are used to establish constraint model. A heuristic operations sequencing and assignment algorithm is given. An industrial case study is carried out, and multiple optimal solutions in different line configurations are obtained. The case studying results show that the solutions with shorter cycle time and higher line balancing rate demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. This research proposes a heuristic line configuration and balancing algorithm based on feature group strategy and polychromatic sets theory which is able to provide better solutions while achieving an improvement in computing time.

The Integrated System of Aerial Photogrammetry and Tower Locations Optimization for Transmission Lines

This paper describes the functions and the features of the integrated system of aerial survey and tower locations optimization for transmission lines, which includes all stages from data acquisition, data transmission and data processing to automatic optimization of the tower locations and drawing. The paper also briefly describes the economic benefit gained from this system, and finally proposes the directions of the future development for this system.

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.

AN SQP ALGORITHM WITH NONMONOTONE LINE SEARCHFOR GENERAL NONLINEAR CONSTRAINED OPTIMIZATION PROBLEM

In this paper, an SQP type algorithm with a new nonmonotone line search technique for general constrained optimization problems is presented. The new algorithm does not have to solve the second order correction subproblems for each iterations, but still can circumvent the so-called Maratos effect. The algorithm's global convergence and superlinear convergent rate have been proved. In addition, we can prove that, after a few iterations, correction subproblems need not be solved, so computation amount of the algorithm will be decreased much more. Numerical experiments show that the new algorithm is effective.

Pose optimization based on integral of the distance between line segments

In this paper, new solutions for the problem of pose estimation from correspondences between 3D model lines and 2D image lines are proposed. Traditional line-based pose estimation methods rely on the assumption that the noises(perpendicular to the line) for the two endpoints are statistically independent. However, these two noises are in fact negatively correlated when the image line segment is fitted using the least-squares technique. Therefore, we design a new error function expressed by the average integral of the distance between line segments. Three least-squares techniques that optimize both the rotation and translation simultaneously are proposed in which the new error function is exploited. In addition, Lie group formalism is utilized to describe the pose parameters, and then, the optimization problem can be solved by means of a simple iterative least squares method. To enhance the robustness to outliers existing in the match data, an M-estimation method is developed to convert the pose optimization problem into an iterative reweighted least squares problem. The proposed methods are validated through experiments using both synthetic and real-world data. The experimental results show that the proposed methods yield a clearly higher precision than the traditional methods.

Model Based Pressure Control of a Push Belt Continuously Variable Transmission

A Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) is a type of transmissions that provides a continuous range of speed ratios, thus it allows increasing the overall powertrain efficiency by running the engine at the optimal operating points. This paper investigates implementing a model based hydraulic pressure controller to achieve the desired CVT gear ratio. A map of desired gear ratios was estimated using the Optimal Operating Line (OOL) strategy, which minimizes the engine fuel consumption according to a defined cost function and a set of systems constraints. The controller was implemented in a complete vehicle model that includes driver, powertrain and road load models. The model was subjected to two different driving cycles and the results demonstrate the effectiveness of the control strategy and the pressure controller in keeping the engine at the most efficient operating regions.