An ant-based clustering algorithm for manufacturing cell design

Abstract

This paper proposes a new part clustering algorithm that uses the concept of ant-based clustering in order to resolve machine cell formation problems. The three-phase algorithm mainly utilizes distributed agents which mimic the way real ants collect similar objects to form meaningful piles. In the first phase, an ant-based clustering model is adopted to form the initial part families. For the purpose of part clustering, a part similarity coefficient is modified and used in the similarity density function of the model. In the second phase, the K-means method is employed in order to achieve a better grouping result. In the third phase, artificial ants are used again to merge the small, refined part families into larger part families in a hierarchical manner. This would increase the flexibility of determining the number of final part families for the factory layout designer. The proposed algorithm has been developed into a software system called the ant-based part clustering system (APCS). In addition to part family formation, APCS performs the tasks of machine assignment and performance evaluation. Finally, performance evaluation of the proposed algorithm was conducted by testing some well-known problems from literature. The evaluation results show that the algorithm is able to solve the cell formation problems effectively.