Virtual manufacturing cell design using a PSO approach with alternative neighbourhood topologies

Abstract

In this paper an application of conventional Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) approach with alternative neighborhood topologies is proposed for the design of virtual manufacturing cells within which machines and jobs are assigned to the cells with a view to maximize productive output, whilst simultaneously minimizing the inter-cell movements due to the limited availability of machines. The PSO results are then compared with the following approaches: Binary PSO (BPSO) and Preemptive / Lexico Goal Programming. It is observed that the PSO topological variants perform well for the assumed VCM design problem. © 2010 Springer-Verlag.