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Design and Optimization of Production Lines
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Design and Optimization of Production Lines

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Mechanical Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2020) | Viewed by 14484

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Paolo Renna

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Engineering, University of Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, Italy
Interests: design and optimization of manufacturing systems: flexible manufacturing systems, reconfigurable manufacturing systems, and production lines; simulation to support the control and optimization of manufacturing systems; game theory models to support reconfigurable manufacturing systems and distributed production planning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Michele Ambrico

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CRF WCM Research and Innovation, Campus Manufacturing Melfi, 85100 Potenza, Italy
Interests: design and optimization; robust cellular manufacturing systems; discrete event simulation; numerical simulation; manufacturing process optimization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is dedicated to the latest findings on the design and optimization of production lines. The classical models to design production lines follow the objective of balancing the line so as to improve the throughput. The last trends of design and optimization models include the management of reconfigurable machines, switch-off policies, buffer control, and so on, to increase robustness and reduce energy consumption.

The “Fourth Industrial Revolution” (alternatively known as “Industry 4.0”) supports innovative models for the energy consumption and fault tolerant in automated lines, and this drive the changes in the design and optimization models for the production lines. The goal is to collect a series of works that can summarize the latest trends in the field of production line optimization models, in order to improve the responsiveness of automated lines to failures, the reduction of energy consumption and peak electricity demand, and other methods to support robust and sustainable production lines.

All experts are invited to contribute to delineating the future of production lines optimization by submitting their contributions.

Prof. Dr. Paolo Renna
Dr. Michele Ambrico
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • flow line
  • redundancy
  • fault tolerant
  • Industry 4.0
  • simulation
  • energy consumption
  • peak electricity
  • buffer
  • robustness

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 2041 KiB  
Article
A New Self-Balancing Assembly Line Based on Collaborative Ant Behavior
by Pyung-Hoi Koo
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(19), 6845; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10196845 - 29 Sep 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2518
Abstract
In most mass-production assembly lines, workers perform a set of tasks repetitively predefined by assembly line balancing techniques. The static task assignment often leads to low productivity when the assembly system faces disruptions or uncertainties such as machine breakdown and uneven worker capabilities. [...] Read more.
In most mass-production assembly lines, workers perform a set of tasks repetitively predefined by assembly line balancing techniques. The static task assignment often leads to low productivity when the assembly system faces disruptions or uncertainties such as machine breakdown and uneven worker capabilities. The idea of bucket brigades (BB) has been introduced to address the static assignment problems where cooperative behavior of ants is applied to flow line control. This paper examines possible efficiency losses associated with the existing BB-based assembly cell and presents an improved version for assembly cells under uncertain environments. The new system attempts to enhance productivity by assigning assembly tasks to workers dynamically and possibly adding buffers for decoupling consecutive workers. The proposed assembly system is evaluated through simulation experiments under various manufacturing environments. The experimental results show that the new system provides higher productivity than the naïve BB-based assembly cell as well as traditional assembly cells, especially for uncertain assembly environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Optimization of Production Lines)
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18 pages, 3343 KiB  
Article
Design Model of Flow Lines to Include Switch-Off Policies Reducing Energy Consumption
by Paolo Renna and Sergio Materi
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(4), 1475; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10041475 - 21 Feb 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2788
Abstract
One of the most promising approaches to reduce the amount of energy consumed in manufacturing systems is the switch off policy. This policy reduces the energy consumed when the machines are in the idle state. The main weakness of this policy is the [...] Read more.
One of the most promising approaches to reduce the amount of energy consumed in manufacturing systems is the switch off policy. This policy reduces the energy consumed when the machines are in the idle state. The main weakness of this policy is the reduction in the production rate of the manufacturing systems. The works proposed in the literature do not consider the design of the production lines for the introduction of switch off policies. This work proposes a design model for production lines that include a targeted imbalance among the workstations to cause designed idle time. The switch-off policy introduced in such designed production lines allows for a reduction in the energy consumed with any production rate loss. Simulation tests are conducted to verify the benefits of switch off policies in production lines designed for its. The simulation results show that the proposed line design allows for a reduction in energy consumption, with a defined loss in the throughput. The application of switch-off policies in the proposed flow line leads to a significant reduction in the energy used in unproductive states controlling the production loss. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Optimization of Production Lines)
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17 pages, 4342 KiB  
Article
In-Line Target Production for Laser IFE
by Irina Aleksandrova, Eugeniy Koshelev and Elena Koresheva
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(2), 686; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10020686 - 18 Jan 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2472
Abstract
The paper presents the results of mathematical and experimental modeling of in-line production of inertial fusion energy (IFE) targets of a reactor-scaled design. The technical approach is the free-standing target (FST) layering method in line-moving spherical shells. This includes each step of the [...] Read more.
The paper presents the results of mathematical and experimental modeling of in-line production of inertial fusion energy (IFE) targets of a reactor-scaled design. The technical approach is the free-standing target (FST) layering method in line-moving spherical shells. This includes each step of the fabrication and injection processes in the FST transmission line (FST-TL) considered as a potential solution of the problem of mass target manufacturing. Finely, we discuss the development strategy of the FST-TL creation seeking to develop commercial power production based on laser IFE. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Optimization of Production Lines)
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16 pages, 1125 KiB  
Article
Statistical Analysis and Data Envelopment Analysis to Improve the Efficiency of Manufacturing Process of Electrical Conductors
by Marco Antonio Zamora-Antuñano, Jorge Cruz-Salinas, Juvenal Rodríguez-Reséndiz, Carlos Alberto González-Gutiérrez, Néstor Méndez-Lozano, Wilfrido Jacobo Paredes-García, José Antonio Altamirano-Corro and José Alfredo Gaytán-Díaz
Appl. Sci. 2019, 9(19), 3965; https://doi.org/10.3390/app9193965 - 21 Sep 2019
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3537
Abstract
The main focus of this research was to develop an approach using statistical tools and Data envelopment analysis (DEA) to tackling productivity measurements and benchmarking problems in electrical conductor manufacturing environment. In the present work, a tooling efficiency study was carried out with [...] Read more.
The main focus of this research was to develop an approach using statistical tools and Data envelopment analysis (DEA) to tackling productivity measurements and benchmarking problems in electrical conductor manufacturing environment. In the present work, a tooling efficiency study was carried out with a nozzle used for the manufacture of 23-AWG wires. The efficiency of five types of tooling, four non-Mexican-manufactured types and one Mexican-manufactured type, were compared. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and the Tukey test were applied. Six factors were considered that influence of the performance of the tooling during the manufacturing process: productivity, quality, time, machine, operator, and color of the insulating material, but the research work focuses on the efficiency of the tooling die-nozzle. The results demonstrated that two die-nozzle models exhibited the best performance; one of them was the Mexican model, surpassed by a non-Mexican model, the capability process index Cpk = 1.26 manifested a better performance for the 3DND die-nozzle according to the statistical analysis and the tests performed. Subsequently, through a super-efficiency DEA model of inputs-oriented with non-decreasing returns to scale (NDRS). The results obtained in the statistical analysis were corroborated using this technique, its application combined with statistical tools represents an innovation for knowledge in manufacturing processes of electrical conductors. Input data were obtained at a manufacturer of electrical conductors supplier of the automotive sector in the Querétaro City of Mexico. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Optimization of Production Lines)
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15 pages, 1727 KiB  
Article
Methodology for Searching Representative Elements
by Jure Murovec, Janez Kušar and Tomaž Berlec
Appl. Sci. 2019, 9(17), 3482; https://doi.org/10.3390/app9173482 - 23 Aug 2019
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2442
Abstract
Companies have to assure their share on the global market, meet customer demands and produce customer-tailored products. With time and production line updates, the layout becomes non-optimal and product diversity only increases this problem. To stay competitive, they need to increase their productivity [...] Read more.
Companies have to assure their share on the global market, meet customer demands and produce customer-tailored products. With time and production line updates, the layout becomes non-optimal and product diversity only increases this problem. To stay competitive, they need to increase their productivity and eliminate waste. Due to a variety of products consisting of similar components and variants thereof, a huge number of various elements are encountered in a production process, the material flow of which is hardly manageable. Although the elements differ from each other, their representative elements can be defined. This paper will illustrate a methodology for searching representative elements (MIRE), which is a combination of the known Pareto’s analysis (also known as ABC analysis or 20/80 rule) and a calculation of a loading function, that can be based on any element feature. Results of using the MIRE methodology in a case from an industrial environment have shown that the analysis can be carried out within a very short time and this provides for permanent analysis, optimisation and, consequently, permanent improvement in the material flow through a production process. The methodology is most suitable for smaller companies as it enables rapid analysis, especially in cases when there is no pre-recorded material flow. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Optimization of Production Lines)
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