A multi-objective joint optimisation method for simultaneous part family formation and configuration design in delayed reconfigurable manufacturing system (D-RMS)

In the era of Industry 4.0, the demand fluctuation has become fiercer due to the characteristics of diversification, customisation, and uncertainty. Reconfigurability of manufacturing systems has been proven to be a useful and necessary feature when it comes to handling demand uncertainty. This feature can be achieved through the implementation of reconfigurable manufacturing system (RMS) and delayed reconfigurable manufacturing system (D-RMS). D-RMS is a subclass of RMS that focuses primarily on improving the convertibility of the manufacturing system. The two main phases involved in implementing D-RMS are part family formation and configuration design. Therefore, we proposed a multi-objective joint optimisation method of part family formation and configuration design according to the philosophy of D-RMS. Firstly, we develop a multi-objective joint optimisation model that takes into account investment cost, reconfiguration cost, similarity coefficient, and delayed reconfiguration to optimise the part family and configuration of D-RMS simultaneously. Three types of machine tools namely dedicated machine tools, flexible machine tools, and reconfigurable machine tools are considered in the optimisation model. Secondly, the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-III (NSGA-III) is adopted to solve the proposed multi-objective integer programming problem. Finally, numerical experiments are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed multi-objective joint optimisation method.