A methodical approach to the flexible-manufacturing-system batching, loading and tool configuration problems

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Abstract
A mixed-integer programming (MIP) problem is formulated to address the flexible manufacturing system (FMS) batching, loading, and tool configuration problems concurrently. This model results in a great many variables, making its mathematical solution impractical. We introduce a four-pass approach using submodels of the original MIP problem. The approach assumes that the need for batching is primarily that of tool magazine capacity constraints, with balancing and maximizing flexibility as secondary objectives.