Abstract
In this study, the machining center with the Automated Pallet Changer (APC) scheduling problem considering the disturbance of the first piece inspection is presented. The APC is frequently used in industry practice; it is useful in terms of sustainability and robustness because it increases the machine utilization rate and enhances the responsiveness to uncertainties in dynamic environments. An enhanced evolutionary algorithm for APC scheduling (APCEA) is developed by combining the multi-objective evolutionary algorithm with APC simulation. The dynamic factors in the simulation model include the pass rate of the first piece inspection (FPI) and the adjusted time when the FPI is unpassed. The proposed APCEA defines the non-robust gene based on the risk combination of the first piece inspection, and screens the non-robust gene in the genetic operation, thus improving the solution quality under the same computation times. Compared with the other three multi-objective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs), it is demonstrated that the proposed APCEA produces the best result among the four methods. The proposed APCEA has been embedded into the manufacturing execution system (MES) and successfully applied in a manufacturing plant. The application value of the proposed method is verified by a practical example.
Highlights
With the advent of the era of industrial 4.0, machining centers with an Automated Pallet Changer (APC) are becoming more and more common in modern factories
In 48 instances, the solution obtained by APCEA has a smaller Inverted Generational Distance (IGD) than that obtained by other algorithms, indicating that any other algorithm is dominated by APCEA in the IGD domain
The aim of this study is to investigate the sustainable scheduling of a machining center equipped with APC; the first piece inspection is considered in the scheduling model
Summary
With the advent of the era of industrial 4.0, machining centers with an Automated Pallet Changer (APC) are becoming more and more common in modern factories. Because complex parts are often processed in aerospace factories, the first piece inspection (FPI) is generally undertaken to prevent the whole batch having quality problems. The FPI checks the processing quality of the first workpiece in each operation of the machining process. After the first workpiece of task Lot on pallet A has been sent for FPI, the APC system can immediately switch to another pallet B to process task Lot. If the FPI of Lot is passed, pallet A can be switched back to continue processing task Lot. Due to the use of APC, a machine can have two or more pallets, which can effectively reduce the idle time of the machine and improve the overall utilization rate
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