A Comparative Evaluation of Exact and Heurististic Methods for Transfer Line Balancing Problem
Résumé
Ten best exact and heuristic methods for Transfer Line Balancing Problem (TLBP) are compared in a computational experiment. The TLBP deals with the optimization of design solutions for serial machining lines. Such lines consist of a sequence of unit head machines. The operations are grouped into blocks at every station. These blocks are executed sequentially and the operations within each block are performed simultaneously by the same multi-spindle head. The objective is to assign the operations to blocks and the blocks to stations minimizing the total number of station and spindle heads. The challenge is to minimize the line cost and time for line design. Experimental results are presented. They help to choose the best optimization method for each situation.