A Tool Allocation Method in Flowshop Type Fms (2Nd Report, a Case of Partly Separated Functional Fms)

This paper describes a tool allocation method in flowshop type FMS. Each job has its own processing order and therefore it has its own order of using the tools. In obedience to the order, each job is processed in Machining Centers. In flowshop type FMS, there is a major direction of the flow of job. It is essential to pay attention to the direction and to minimize the backward flow. In this paper, the case of partly separated functional FMS is considered, and by using graph theory a new method of tool allocation in order to eliminate the backward flow is introduced. Firstly, by regarding the processing order as a directed graph, a completely separated functional FMS that has the minimum backward flow is obtained. Next, the overlapping tools are selected to eliminate the backward flow that remains.