Optimizing crimping operations in cable assembly shops

Abstract

Long setup times are incurred in the crimping operation of automotive cable assembly shops. Different heads are used to crimp different connectors to the end of operators where the heads on a machine can be changed one by one. These heads are quite expensive and the manufacturers avoid having more then one of each type. In such a manufacturing environment where multiple crimping machines are used the primary objective is to minimize the total time spent to setups. Also, it is desirable to have a schedule so that simultaneous use of the same head on more than one machine is avoided. In previous research there are some works on the first objective and two successful heuristics are proposed. In this study we cope for the second objective also and propose two comparable heuristic algorithms.