Parallel machine scheduling with a common server
Discrete Applied Mathematics
On Throughput Maximization in Constant Travel-Time Robotic Cells
Manufacturing & Service Operations Management
Part sequencing in three-machine no-wait robotic cells
Operations Research Letters
Sequencing and Scheduling in Robotic Cells: Recent Developments
Journal of Scheduling
Robotic material handler scheduling in flexible manufacturing systems for mass customization
Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing
Cyclic scheduling of cluster tools with non-identical chamber access times
Proceedings of the Winter Simulation Conference
Two-machine robotic cell scheduling problem with sequence-dependent setup times
Computers and Operations Research
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We present a general analysis of the problem of sequencing operations in bufferless robotic cell flow shops with parallel machines. Our focus will be cells that produce identical parts. The objective is to find a cyclic sequence of robot moves that maximizes the steady state throughput. Parallel machines are used in the industry to increase throughput, most typically at bottleneck processes having larger processing times.Efficient use of parallel machines requires that several parts be processed in one cycle of robot movements. We analyze such cycles for constant travel-time robotic cells. The number of cycles that produce several parts is very large, so we focus on a subclass called blocked cycles. In this class, we find a dominating subclass called LCM Cycles.The results and the analysis in this paper offer practitioners (i) guidelines to determine whether parallel machines will be cost-effective for a given implementation, (ii) a simple formula for determining how many copies of each machine are required to meet a particular throughput rate, and (iii) an optimal sequence of robot moves for a cell with parallel machines under a certain common condition on the processing times.