Multi-job cyclic scheduling for an automated flow-type manufacturing system. Relationship between job output interval and buffer capacity.

Abstract

A multi-job cyclic scheduling problem for an automated job-shop-type manufacturing system was analyzed. In the cyclic scheduling problem, an optimum schedule is a non-idle schedule, where a bottleneck machine produces jobs without idle time in the steady state. A dividing method of the jobs was introduced and the job output interval in the steady state was clarified. A lower bound on the buffer capacity was obtained to construct a non-idle schedule.