Browsing by Subject "Throughput maximization"

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Open Access
The general behavior of pull production systems: the allocation problems
(Elsevier, 1999) Kırkavak, N.; Dinçer, C.
The design of tandem production systems has been well studied in the literature with the primary focus being on how to improve their e ciency. Considering the large costs associated, a slight improvement in e ciency can lead to very signi®cant savings over its life. Division of work and allocation of bu er capacities between workstations are two critical design problems that have attracted the attention of many researchers. In this study, ®rst an understanding into how the system works is to be provided. Except for the integration of two allocation problems, the basic model utilized here is essentially the same as the previous studies. Theoretical results that characterize the dynamics of these systems may also provide some heuristic support in the analysis of large-scale pull production systems. Ó 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Open Access
Pure cycles in two-machine dual-gripper robotic cells
(Elsevier, 2017) Gultekin, H.; Dalgıç, Ö. O.; Akturk, M. S.
We consider a robotic cell served by a dual-gripper robot that consists of identical CNC machines placed linearly and a material handling robot loading/unloading the machines and transporting the parts between them. Identical parts are to be processed in this system and the CNC machines are capable of performing all the operations that a part requires. We consider the problem of sequencing activities of the robot in order to maximize the throughput rate. As a consequence of the flexibility of the CNC machines, a new class of robot move sequences, named as pure cycles, arises. In a pure cycle, the robot loads and unloads each machine once and each part is processed on exactly one of the machines. Thereby, the problem is to determine the best pure cycle that maximizes the throughput rate. We first determine the feasibility conditions for the pure cycles and prove some basic results that reduces the number of feasible pure cycles to be investigated. We analyze 2-machine robotic cells in detail and prove that five of the cycles among a huge number of feasible pure cycles dominate the rest. We determine the parameter regions in which each of the five cycles is optimal. We also analyze the performance improvement that can be attained by using a dual gripper robot and provide managerial insights.