This article addresses the scheduling problem of a real die casting shop. The problem is of practical importance and yet complicated, especially for a modern casting environment where a variety of cast products made of different alloys are simultaneously manufactured in relatively small lot sizes. As a simple and robust scheduling methodology, a Linear Programming (LP) model is proposed so as to determine the quantity of each product in a casting shift. The solution of the LP model maximises the average efficiency of melting furnaces, i.e., the percentage use of molten alloys throughout the shifts. Our model can represent a most general casting environment to the extent that some die casting machines carry out frequent in-process die exchanges for flexible manufacturing. At the same time, we employ line-type casting as well as a combination die with multi-cavities which can cast dissimilar shapes concurrently. In the high-mix low-volume manufacturing world, the proposed LP model can assist the die casting industry to strengthen its competence by providing an optimal schedule that satisfies practical constraints on casting processes. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.
CITATION STYLE
Park, Y. K., & Yang, J. M. (2013). Scheduling of die casting operations including high-mix low-volume and line-type production. International Journal of Production Research, 51(6), 1728–1744. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2012.695876
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