A new approach for formation of virtual cells

Abstract

In this paper, a new approach for cell formation that integrates machine grouping and layout design, neglecting part-family formation, has been presented. The procedure includes four phases. In Phase 1, primary cells are formed by dividing operations into three ranges. Phase 2 involves redesigning of primary cells for minimisation of the number of intercell travels and to address the machine duplication problem. Phase 3 involves decomposition of individual primary cells into sub-cells. Phase 4 involves forced decomposition of sub-cells to obtain multiple cell designs. The efficacy of the methodology is demonstrated through an illustrative example.