Method and apparatus for assembling circuit boards by means of fixed equipment on at least two assembly lines

Abstract

This invention claims a method for assembling circuit boards (120) on at least two assembly lines (110) using equipment (165, 170), wherein a fixed equipment (165) can be attached to each assembly line, wherein the method comprises the following steps: a) acquiring a set of circuit board types; b) acquiring a set of device types; c) acquiring a set of fixed equipment families for each assembly line; d) acquiring circuit board types (122) that can be assigned to fixed equipment families for each assembly line; e) acquiring circuit board types that can be assigned to equipment family extensions for each fixed equipment family, wherein equipment family extensions are derived from equipment families minus fixed equipment families; f) determining circuit board types to fixed equipment. The allocation of equipment families and equipment family extensions, wherein the allocation is carried out such that the space requirement at the track for the device type allocated to the fixed equipment family and the device type (160) allocated to the equipment family extension is less than or equal to the number of tracks having space in the equipment (165); and wherein the sum of the production times of the circuit boards (120) to be assembled during the planning period for those circuit board types (122) allocated to the fixed equipment family does not exceed a predetermined limit, g) optimizing a specific allocation until the allocation quality exceeds a predetermined measure; and wherein a favorable set of additional circuit boards should be assembled at each assembly line, the assembly of which is planned outside the fixed equipment family and within the equipment family extension.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for assembling circuit boards in a manufacturing facility on at least two assembly lines by means of equipment. Background Technology

[0002] Assembly lines in manufacturing or production facilities, which typically include multiple assembly lines, are set up to assemble multiple components onto one or more circuit boards.

[0003] In many factories or manufacturing facilities in the electronics production industry, circuit boards (or components) to be manufactured are intermediately assigned to the corresponding SMT assembly lines. Due to technological limitations, not every circuit board can be manufactured or assembled on every assembly line. Circuit boards also typically have different production times on assembly lines. Furthermore, exceeding the maximum production time capacity of the assembly line is not permitted.

[0004] Here, a distinction can be made between variant equipment manufacturing (Variantenrüstungsfertigung) and fixed equipment manufacturing (Festrüstungsfertigung).

[0005] In variant equipment manufacturing, for short planning periods (approximately 1-5 days), circuit boards to be manufactured or assembled are grouped into equipment families (“clusters”). Here, an equipment family is a collection of circuit board types that can be produced on an assembly line using a predetermined number of component types. The collection of component types required for this purpose is called equipment and is typically housed in a set of exchange workstations. Exchange workstations are usually used to expand equipment with appropriate components of the component types during pre-assembly for production and subsequently to reduce equipment. Multiple such exchange workstations constitute an exchange workstation group.

[0006] In fixed-equipment manufacturing, the equipment used to manufacture the circuit boards is permanently mounted on exchange tables for extended periods (approximately 6-12 months). In cases where multiple fixed pieces of equipment are used on each assembly line, the exchange tables are interchanged accordingly when the equipment family changes. Therefore, there is no longer a need to expand or reduce equipment for the exchange tables during daily production.

[0007] Manufacturing is often carried out in a hybrid manner, with some circuit boards produced in fixed equipment manufacturing and others in variant manufacturing on the same assembly line. Due to the lower costs associated with planning, warehousing, pre-assembly, and modification, the general aim is to increase the portion of fixed equipment manufacturing and decrease the portion of variant equipment manufacturing.

[0008] For example, the objectives in production planning are:

[0009] (a) Equipment costs at the assembly line should be kept as low as possible. Therefore, it should be possible to manufacture as many circuit boards as possible using fixed equipment.

[0010] (b) The number of equipment families at the assembly line should be as small as possible in order to reduce the time spent on modification.

[0011] (c) Total production time should be minimized as much as possible.

[0012] However, there is another very important goal in practice:

[0013] Because the planning period is currently more accurately described as medium-term, there is uncertainty regarding the future number of circuit board types. This could lead to unintended and significant deviations in assembly line utilization / production time from the production schedule. In particular, some assembly lines may be "idle" due to underutilization, while others may be overloaded and unable to complete their production orders on time.

[0014] If there are multiple similar assembly lines, each operated using fixed equipment, it is possible to exchange the fixed equipment between the assembly lines. Summary of the Invention

[0015] The objective of this invention is to make methods and equipment more flexible, especially in industrial environments, compared to the prior art described above, so as to achieve the most uniform and full utilization of the assembly line, particularly when one of the assembly lines may be expected to fail completely or partially.

[0016] This task is accomplished by a method for assembling a predetermined set of circuit boards on at least two assembly lines in a manufacturing facility using equipment, and a control device suitable for assembling a predetermined set of circuit boards on at least two assembly lines in a manufacturing facility using equipment. Advantageous improvements of the invention are shown in other embodiments.

[0017] This invention claims a method for assembling circuit boards using equipment on at least two assembly lines in a manufacturing facility.

[0018] -The equipment includes multiple device types sufficient to assemble multiple circuit board types assigned to the equipment, the circuit board types constituting a family of equipment of the circuit board types.

[0019] -This allows for the attachment of one fixed piece of equipment to each assembly line during a pre-defined timeframe.

[0020] -The fixed equipment remains unchanged during the planning period and can be repeatedly used at the assembly line. The fixed equipment is fixedly mounted on the exchange workbench of the exchange workbench group and includes a reserve of device types in the track.

[0021] The method includes the following steps:

[0022] -a) Collect a set of circuit board types that should be assembled in the manufacturing facility during the planning period;

[0023] -b) Collect a set of all circuit board types and device types to be assembled during the planning period, which have their space requirements at the track of the exchange workbench group.

[0024] -c) Collect a set of fixed equipment families for each assembly line;

[0025] -d) For each assembly line, collect the circuit board type that can be assigned to a fixed equipment family, where the circuit board of that type should be assembled at the assembly line.

[0026] -e) For each fixed equipment family, collect the circuit board types that can be assigned to the equipment family expansion, where the circuit boards of these types should be assembled at the assembly line, wherein the equipment family expansion is derived by subtracting the fixed equipment family from the equipment family.

[0027] -f) Determine the allocation of circuit board types to fixed equipment families and equipment family extensions.

[0028] - The allocation is performed such that the space requirement for tracks allocated to device types of fixed equipment families and to device types of equipment family extensions is less than or equal to the number of tracks, which have space within the equipment; and

[0029] -The total production time of the circuit boards to be assembled during the planning period for those circuit board types allocated to the fixed equipment family does not exceed the pre-defined limit.

[0030] -g) Optimize specific assignments until the assignment quality exceeds a predefined metric;

[0031] -And the advantageous assembly of the additional circuit boards should be assembled at each assembly line, the assembly of which is planned both outside the fixed equipment family and within the equipment family extension.

[0032] -h) is given to the track equipment device, the device type of which is used to assemble the circuit board in the corresponding fixed equipment equipment family and equipment family extension.

[0033] The circuit board is assembled on the assembly line using equipment from h).

[0034] The allocation quality can be determined based on one of the following possibilities:

[0035] a) The number of orders during the planning period, wherein each order involves the assembly of multiple circuit boards of a predetermined circuit board type for a fixed equipment family, and / or

[0036] b) The total number of circuit boards of those types assigned to the fixed equipment family that are to be assembled during the planning period;

[0037] c) The total production time of the circuit boards to be assembled during the planning period for those circuit board types assigned to the fixed equipment family.

[0038] This allows for the manufacture or assembly of circuit boards of the same type that would normally be manufactured on another assembly line. This provides redundancy in case of a failure or overload on the other assembly line. Therefore, this assembly line can take over at least a portion of the production from one or more other assembly lines.

[0039] The advantageous set of additional circuit boards can be determined or calculated as follows:

[0040] -From the maximum number of additional circuit boards that can be assembled at these assembly lines, and / or

[0041] - From the maximum number of circuit board types when additional circuit boards are assembled at this assembly line, and / or

[0042] - From the maximum number of high-priority board types, and / or

[0043] -From the frequency of occurrence of the type of circuit board within the additionally mountable circuit board, and / or

[0044] - and / or from the maximum number of circuit boards that can be assembled in the manufacturing facility per unit time.

[0045] - and / or from the selection of the circuit board type with the maximum total production time, the circuit board type is selected from the set of circuit board types collected under a).

[0046] Therefore, device types can be optimized for equipment on free tracks under given presets.

[0047] Mixed-integer linear programming can be used to determine the allocation from f) and optimize the determined allocation from g). By using precise mathematical optimization methods, a much better solution can be achieved than by using heuristics that may be possible in practice. For small IP programs (integer linear programs), standard solvers such as CPLEX, SCIP, and Gurobi can be used.

[0048] Another aspect of the invention is a device in the form of a control device configured to control and execute the assembly of circuit boards by means of equipment on each assembly line in a production facility.

[0049] The control device is suitable for assembling circuit boards in a production facility using equipment on at least two assembly lines.

[0050] -The equipment includes multiple device types sufficient to assemble multiple circuit board types assigned to the equipment, the circuit board types constituting a family of equipment of the circuit board types.

[0051] -This allows for the attachment of one fixed piece of equipment to each assembly line during a pre-defined timeframe.

[0052] -The fixed equipment, which is fixedly equipped on the exchange workbench of the exchange workbench group and includes a reserve of device types in the track, remains unchanged during the planning period and can be repeatedly used at the assembly line;

[0053] The control device is designed to:

[0054] a) Collect a set of circuit board types that should be assembled in the manufacturing facility during the planning period;

[0055] b) Collect a set of all circuit board types and device types to be assembled during the planning period, which have their space requirements at the track of the exchange workbench group.

[0056] c) Collect a set of fixed equipment families for each assembly line;

[0057] d) For each assembly line, acquire the circuit board type that can be assigned to a fixed equipment family, where circuit boards of that type should be assembled at that assembly line.

[0058] e) For each assembly line, acquire the circuit board type that can be assigned to the equipment family extension, where the circuit board of that type should be assembled at that assembly line, wherein the equipment family extension is derived from the equipment family minus the fixed equipment family.

[0059] f) Determine the allocation of circuit board types to fixed equipment families and equipment family extensions.

[0060] - The allocation is performed such that the space requirement for tracks allocated to device types of fixed equipment families and to device types of equipment family extensions is less than or equal to the number of tracks, which have space within the equipment; and

[0061] -The total production time of the circuit boards to be assembled during the planning period for those circuit board types allocated to the fixed equipment family does not exceed the pre-defined limit.

[0062] g) Optimize specific assignments until the assignment quality exceeds a predefined metric;

[0063] -And a favorable number of additional circuit boards should be assembled at each assembly line, the assembly of which is planned both outside the fixed equipment family and within the equipment family extension.

[0064] h) and control the equipment of the track by the device, the device type of which is used to assemble the circuit board in the corresponding fixed equipment family and equipment family extension.

[0065] The device and computer program (product) can be constructed or improved according to the method described above or an improved / implemented method.

[0066] Furthermore, a computer program (product) is provided, the computer program product comprising program code that can be executed by at least one processor and causes at least one processor to perform the method and its embodiments according to the invention. The computer program can run on a computer, such as in the cloud, on a server, and / or a PC, or be stored as a computer-readable medium as a computer program product. Here, the computer program causes a runtime environment to run.

[0067] Additionally, a variant of a computer program (product) having program commands for configuring the creation of a device may be, for example, a 3D printer, a computer system, or a manufacturing machine suitable for creating processors and / or devices.

[0068] This component can be a hardware, firmware, and / or software unit or module.

[0069] Unless otherwise stated in the following description, the terms “implement,” “calculate,” “computer-aided,” “calculate,” “determine,” “generate,” “configure,” “reconfigure,” etc., preferably relate to actions and / or processes and / or steps of altering and / or generating data and / or transforming data into other data, wherein the data can in particular be represented as a physical parameter or can exist as a physical parameter, such as as an electrical pulse. In particular, the expression “computer” should be interpreted as broadly as possible to encompass, in particular, all electronic devices with data processing characteristics. Thus, a computer can be, for example, a personal computer, a server, a programmable logic controller (SPS), a handheld computer system, a PDA device, a mobile wireless device, and other communication devices, processors, and other electronic devices for performing data processing in a computer-aided manner.

[0070] "Computer-aided" in connection with the present invention can be understood, for example, as an implementation of the method, wherein in particular, a processor executes at least one method step of the method.

[0071] "Providing" can be understood as providing the application and / or capability package itself to the aforementioned components, such as a processing unit, CPU, or control unit. "Providing" can also be understood as providing computation to the processing unit, where the computation can be the provided application itself and / or the use of capability packages for controlling and / or performing configuration. Attached Figure Description

[0072] The above-described features, characteristics, and advantages of the present invention, and how these features, characteristics, and advantages are realized, will become clearer and more apparent from the following description of the embodiments, which are illustrated in more detail with reference to the figures. Hereinafter:

[0073] Figure 1 An assembly system that can be used in a manufacturing facility is shown.

[0074] Figure 2 The flowchart is shown schematically. Detailed Implementation

[0075] Figure 1 An assembly system 100 is shown. The assembly system 100 includes one or more assembly lines 110 and a control unit 115. Each assembly line 110 includes an optional conveyor system 125 and one or more automated assemblers 130. Each automated assembler 130 includes one or more assembly heads 135, each configured to pick up a component 155 from a workbench 140 and position the component at a predetermined location on a circuit board 120 located on the conveyor system 125.

[0076] During the assembly process, circuit board 120 is typically stationary relative to automatic assembly machine 130. Exchange tables 140 each include numerous conveyor devices 150, in... Figure 1 Only one of the conveying devices is shown as an example. Each conveying device 150 prepares a reserve of devices 155 of a predetermined device type 160. For devices 155, the conveying device 150 has a capacity typically expressed in spurens. The spurens are typically 8 mm wide, and the number of spurens for each conveying device 150 is limited, for example, to 40. Devices 155 of the same device type 160 are typically provided in a belt, on a reel, or in a tube. Each device type 160 requires a predetermined number of spurens at the conveying device 150, and these spurens are typically adjacent to each other.

[0077] Each conveyor 150 can be configured to prepare different devices 155, and typically different conveyor 150s can be attached to exchange workstations 140. If a device 155 of device type 160 that is not present in one of the exchange workstations 140 is needed at the automated assembly machine 130, the required device 155 is typically not provided to one of the attached exchange workstations 140, but is instead completely replaced by another exchange workstation 140 that is correspondingly assembled. Expanding the equipment of the exchange workstation 140 to be exchanged with device 155 is called pre-assembly and may require processing time ranging from several hours.

[0078] Since the changeover of the exchange workbench 140 at assembly line 110 is usually associated with production stoppages, the goal is to perform as few changes of the exchange workbench 140 as possible.

[0079] To assemble a predetermined set of circuit boards 120, an apparatus can be constructed, the apparatus comprising a reserve of devices 155 of a predetermined device type 160, wherein each of the circuit boards 120 in the set can be fully assembled with a device 155 of the apparatus. The apparatus can be implemented using multiple exchange workstations 140. Figure 1 The diagram shows a fixed assembly 165 and a variant assembly 170. The exchange table of the fixed assembly is attached to the assembly line 110, while the exchange table of the variant assembly is separate from the manufacturing line 110. One or more fixed assemblies 165 and one or more variant assemblies 170 can be provided. A situation without variant assembly 170 is also possible.

[0080] Fixed equipment 165 is configured to remain unchanged in terms of its component type 160 at least during a planned period, such as six months or one year. Therefore, when needed, although components 155 can be filled at the exchange table 140 of fixed equipment 165, the allocation of component type 160 to the tracks of exchange table 140 remains unchanged. If multiple fixed pieces of equipment 165 are provided, they can be interchanged with each other or with one of the variant pieces of equipment 170 during the planned period.

[0081] In this example, only fixed equipment is used at assembly line 110, which is described in more detail.

[0082] Control device 115 assigns circuit board type 122 to equipment families, the assigned circuit boards 120 of which should be assembled on assembly line 110. An equipment family is a collection of circuit board types 122, whose circuit boards 120 can be assembled entirely using the devices 155 provided in the assigned equipment 165, 170. Equipment families are typically assigned to exactly one equipment 165, 170, and vice versa.

[0083] Assembly lines operating solely on fixed equipment are particularly vulnerable to underutilization due to the rigid circuit board-line distribution. In cases of overload, circuit boards may be transferred to the assembly line where they are also manufactured using modified equipment.

[0084] In the case of multiple identical assembly lines operating using multiple fixed equipment, there is flexibility in interchangeable fixed equipment on the assembly lines.

[0085] To increase manufacturing flexibility in the case of different assembly lines operating with multiple fixed rigs or in the case of assembly lines operating with a single fixed rig, it is advantageous if one or more fixed rigs on an assembly line can still manufacture other circuit board types that are assigned to other assembly lines. This is particularly advantageous if an assembly line fails completely or partially. It may then be possible to assign at least a portion of the circuit board types from the failing assembly line to an assembly line with fixed rigs, and potentially assemble those circuit boards there. However, this only works if there are still available tracks at the fixed rig assembly line for picking up components that correspond to the component types used at other assembly lines.

[0086] Figure 2 The flowchart is shown. In step 210, a set of circuit board types that should be assembled in the manufacturing facility during the planning period is first collected. Then, in step 220, fixed equipment is collected or constituted, and for each fixed equipment family, circuit board types that can be assigned to equipment family extensions are collected. The circuit boards of these circuit board types should be assembled at the assembly line, wherein the equipment family extension is derived from the equipment family minus the fixed equipment family.

[0087] In step 230, circuit board type-assembly line allocation is performed, wherein the allocation is performed such that the space requirement at the track for the device type allocated to the fixed equipment family and the device type allocated to the equipment family extension is less than or equal to the number of tracks that have space in the equipment.

[0088] This approach can be based on mixed-integer linear optimization.

[0089] To construct fixed equipment using fixed parts and equipment family extension or flexible parts, the following steps are taken:

[0090] Step 210:

[0091] -a) Collect a set of circuit board types that should be assembled in the manufacturing facility during the planning period;

[0092] b) Collect a set of all circuit board types and device types to be assembled during the planning period, which have their space requirements at the track of the exchange workbench group.

[0093] Step 220:

[0094] - For each assembly line, collect data from fixed equipment. In other words:

[0095] -c) Collect a set of fixed equipment families for each assembly line;

[0096] d) For each assembly line, a circuit board type that can be assigned to a fixed equipment family should be assembled at the assembly line.

[0097] -e) For each fixed equipment family, collect the circuit board types that can be assigned to the equipment family expansion, where the circuit boards of these types should be assembled at the assembly line, wherein the equipment family expansion is derived by subtracting the fixed equipment family from the equipment family.

[0098] And in step 230:

[0099] -f) Determine the allocation of circuit board types to fixed equipment families and equipment family extensions.

[0100] - The allocation is made such that the space requirement at the track for the device type (160) allocated to the fixed equipment family and the device type (160) allocated to the equipment family extension is less than or equal to the number of tracks, which have space in the equipment (165); and

[0101] -The total production time of the circuit boards (120) to be assembled during the planning period for those circuit board types (122) allocated to the fixed equipment family does not exceed the predetermined limit.

[0102] -g) Optimize specific assignments until the assignment quality exceeds a predefined metric;

[0103] -And wherein at each assembly line, a favorable set of additional circuit boards shall be assembled, the assembly of which is planned both outside the fixed equipment family and within the equipment family extension.

[0104] This allows for the assembly of track components, requiring the component type for assembling circuit boards within the corresponding fixed equipment family and equipment family extension.

[0105] For each assembly line with fixed equipment, determine whether and how these fixed equipment can be expanded so that the manufacturing of circuit boards can also be carried out using the fixed equipment, i.e., the manufacturing of the circuit boards can be assigned to other assembly lines.

[0106] Therefore, fixed equipment with flexible components is constructed. The flexible component of the fixed equipment is understood as the circuit boards that are actually assigned to other assembly lines but can be manufactured using that fixed equipment. This approach is typically feasible only for some fixed equipment, but is not limited to them. This approach is based on mixed-integer linear optimization.

[0107] This optimization task is solved using the following MILP (mixed integer linear programming) approach, which aims to optimize or maximize, if necessary, all the flexible parts of the fixed equipment in assembly line l.

[0108] MILP (Mixed Integer Linear Programming) involves optimizing a linear objective function on a set of linear equations and inequalities. MILP is the foundation for solving (mixed) integer linear optimization problems. A solver is a general term for a special mathematical computer program that can solve mathematical problems numerically. Combining MILP with standard solvers such as CPLEX, Scip, Gurobi, and Xpress allows for the use of IP programs (integer optimization models).

[0109] The mixed-integer linear optimization model is first described below for constructing two fixed rigs on different assembly lines. This mixed-integer linear optimization model can be extended for more than two fixed rigs.

[0110] The circuit board types are grouped into fixed equipment (fixed sections) on two assembly lines. Additionally, each assembly line is allocated a flexible section for another assembly line's circuit board types, which can also be manufactured using corresponding fixed equipment.

[0111] In MIP terminology, the following names apply.

[0112] index

[0113] A collection of C device types

[0114] R circuit board assembly

[0115] R c A collection of circuit boards with device type c

[0116] Cl is a set of fixed equipment / fixed equipment families.

[0117] {Fixed Equipment Line 1, Fixed Equipment Line 2}

[0118] parameter

[0119] Witdth cSpace requirements of device type C in the orbit

[0120] LineCap cl The number of orbits with spatial device types in the equipment family cl.

[0121] TimeLimit r，cl Production timeline for fixed equipment cl

[0122] Time r,cl Production time of circuit board r with fixed equipment cl

[0123] binary variables

[0124] assign r,cl A variable indicating whether circuit board r is assigned to equipment family cl (a fixed part). (In this case, the variable takes the value 1, otherwise it takes the value 0) assignFlex r，cl This variable indicates whether circuit board r is assigned to the flexible portion of equipment family cl. (In this case, the variable takes the value 1; otherwise, it takes the value 0.)

[0125] setup c，cl This variable indicates whether device type c must be equipped in the equipment of equipment family cl. (In this case, the variable takes the value 1; otherwise, it takes the value 0.)

[0126] objective function

[0127] Maximize ∑ cl∈Cl ∑ r∈R assignFlex r，cl Time r，cl

[0128] Auxiliary conditions:

[0129] (1) Each board type must be assigned to exactly one equipment family.

[0130]

[0131] (2) The device types on the circuit boards of the equipment family must be suitable for the equipment.

[0132]

[0133] (3) All device types of both fixed and flexible circuit board types in the equipment family must be equipped in the equipment family's equipment.

[0134]

[0135] (4) The total production time of fixed circuit board types of equipment family shall not exceed the production time limit.

[0136]

[0137] (5) Circuit boards are not allowed to be assigned to both fixed and flexible parts of the equipment family at the same time.

[0138] assign r，cl +assignFlex r，cl ≤1 cl∈Cl

[0139] (6) Variable restrictions

[0140] assign r,cl ∈{0,1}r∈R,cl∈Cl

[0141] assignFlex r,cl ∈{0,1}r∈R,cl∈Cl

[0142] setup c,cl c∈C, cl∈Cl ∈{0,1}

[0143] Furthermore, the following points can be considered in the model through slight modifications and additional constraints:

[0144] - There is a device-change station restriction on the assembly line, meaning that devices are not allowed to go to all change stations, but only to a subset.

[0145] - Maximum equipment fill

[0146] - For the expansion of multiple assembly lines with multiple fixed equipment

[0147] - The circuit board type can be assigned to at most one flexible fixed equipment section.

[0148] The aforementioned control device can then utilize this flexible or optimal setup to control the assembly of circuit boards on the assembly line.

[0149] Although the present invention has been illustrated and described in more detail by way of preferred embodiments, the invention is not limited to the disclosed examples and other variations can be derived by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of protection of the invention.

[0150] The above method can be implemented according to instructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium or in volatile computer memory (hereinafter collectively referred to as computer-readable memory). The computer memory can be a control device or the aforementioned control device. Computer-readable memory includes, for example, volatile memory such as cache memory, buffer, or RAM, and non-volatile memory such as removable data carrier, hard disk, etc.

[0151] Here, the functions or method steps described above may exist in / on a computer-readable storage medium in the form of at least one instruction set. Here, the functions or steps are not bound to a specific instruction set or a specific form of instruction set, or a specific storage medium, or a specific processor or a specific execution scheme, and may be executed individually or in any combination by software, firmware, microcode, hardware, processor, integrated circuit, etc. Here, a wide variety of processing strategies may be used, such as serial processing, multiplexing, multitasking, or parallel processing via a single processor.

[0152] Instructions can be stored in local or central memory, but it is also possible to store instructions on a remote system and access them via a network.

[0153] As used herein, the terms “processor,” “central signal processing,” “control unit,” or “data evaluation device” include processing components in the broadest sense, such as servers, general-purpose processors, graphics processors, digital signal processors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic circuits (e.g., FPGAs), discrete analog or digital circuits, and any combination thereof, including all other processing components known to those skilled in the art or developed in the future. Here, a processor may consist of one or more devices or units that may be integrated into a device. If a processor consists of multiple devices, these devices may be designed or configured to process or execute instructions in parallel or sequentially.

Claims

1. A method for assembling a predetermined set of circuit boards (120) in a manufacturing facility on at least two assembly lines (110) by means of equipment (165, 170), - Each assembly line (110) includes a conveyor system (125) and one or more automatic assembly machines (130), wherein each automatic assembly machine (130) includes one or more assembly heads (135), each assembly head being configured to pick up a component (155) from an exchange workbench (140). -The equipment (165, 170) includes multiple device types (160) sufficient to assemble multiple circuit board types assigned to the equipment (165, 170), the circuit board types forming a family of equipment of circuit board type (122). -The fixed equipment (165) that is fixedly equipped on the exchange worktables (140, 145) of the exchange worktable group and includes the reserve of the device (155) of the device type (160) in the track remains unchanged during the planning period and can be repeatedly used at the assembly line (110). The method includes the following steps: -a) Collect a set of circuit board types that should be assembled in the manufacturing facility during the planned period; -b) Collect a set of all circuit board types of device types to be assembled during the planning period, which have their space requirements at the tracks of the exchange workbench group, and collect the number of tracks in the equipment (165) that have space according to the capacity of the exchange workbench in a manner implemented by multiple exchange workbench; -c) Collect a set of fixed equipment families for each assembly line; -d) For each assembly line, collect the circuit board type (122) that can be assigned to the fixed equipment family, the circuit board of the circuit board type should be assembled at the assembly line, wherein the circuit board type is assigned to the fixed equipment on one of the assembly lines respectively. -e) For each fixed equipment family, collect the circuit board types that can be allocated to the equipment family extension, wherein the equipment family extension, together with its corresponding fixed equipment family, constitutes the equipment family, wherein the space requirement at the track for the device type allocated to the fixed equipment family and the device type (160) allocated to the equipment family extension is less than or equal to the number of tracks, said tracks having space in the equipment (165) according to the capacity of said exchange workstations in a manner implemented by a plurality of exchange workstations, and wherein the circuit board types that can be allocated to the equipment family extension belonging to the fixed equipment family are circuit board types that have been assigned to assembly lines different from the circuit board types of said fixed equipment family. -f) Determine the allocation of circuit board types to fixed equipment families and equipment family extensions. - The allocation is made such that the space requirement at the track for the device type allocated to the fixed equipment family and the track for the device type (160) of the equipment family extension is less than or equal to the number of tracks, which have space in the equipment (165) according to the capacity of the exchange workstations in a manner realized by the number of exchange workstations; and - The allocation is made such that the total production time of the circuit boards (120) to be assembled during the planning period for those circuit board types (122) allocated to the fixed equipment family does not exceed the predetermined production time limit. -g) Optimize specific allocations to maximize the sum of production times for the advantageous set of additional circuit board types at each assembly line; -And a favorable set of additional circuit board types at each assembly line is planned when using the equipment family extension. -h) Equip the track with the following devices, the device types of which are used for assembling the circuit board in the corresponding fixed equipment family and equipment family extension; and -i) The circuit boards (120) of the type of circuit boards collected from a) are assembled on the assembly line (110) by means of equipment from h).

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Additionally, the allocation is determined based on one of the following possibilities: a) The number of orders during the planning period, wherein each order involves the assembly of multiple circuit boards (120) of a predetermined circuit board type (122) of the fixed equipment family, and / or b) The sum of the number of circuit boards (120) to be assembled during the planning period for those circuit board types (122) assigned to the fixed equipment family.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The advantageous set of additional circuit boards is derived from the following: -From the maximum number of additional circuit boards that can be assembled at these assembly lines, and / or - From the maximum number of circuit board types when the additional circuit board is assembled at this assembly line, and / or - From the maximum number of high-priority board types, and / or -From the frequency of occurrence of the type of circuit board within the additionally mountable circuit board, and / or -From the maximum number of circuit boards that can be assembled in the manufacturing facility per unit time, - and / or from the selection of the circuit board type with the maximum total production time, the circuit board type is selected from the set of circuit board types collected under a).

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, We use mixed-integer linear programming to determine the allocation from f) and optimize the determined allocation from g).

5. A control device suitable for assembling a predetermined set of circuit boards (120) in a manufacturing facility on at least two assembly lines (110) by means of equipment (165, 170), - Each assembly line (110) includes a conveyor system (125) and one or more automatic assembly machines (130), wherein each automatic assembly machine (130) includes one or more assembly heads (135), each assembly head being configured to pick up a component (155) from an exchange workbench (140). -The equipment (165, 170) includes multiple device types (160) sufficient to assemble multiple circuit board types assigned to the equipment (165, 170), the circuit board types forming a family of equipment of circuit board type (122). -The fixed equipment (165) that is fixedly equipped on the exchange worktables (140, 145) of the exchange worktable group and includes the reserve of the device (155) of the device type (160) in the track remains unchanged during the planning period and can be repeatedly used at the assembly line (110). The control device is designed to: a) Collect a set of circuit board types that should be assembled in the manufacturing facility during the planned period; b) Collect a set of all circuit board types of device types to be assembled during the planning period, which have their space requirements at the tracks of the exchange workbench group, and collect the number of tracks in the equipment (165) having space according to the capacity of the exchange workbench in a manner implemented by multiple exchange workbench; c) Collect a set of fixed equipment families for each assembly line; d) For each assembly line, collect the circuit board type (122) that can be assigned to the fixed equipment family, the circuit board of the circuit board type should be assembled at the assembly line, wherein the circuit board type is assigned to the fixed equipment on one of the assembly lines respectively. e) For each assembly line, acquire the circuit board types that can be assigned to the equipment family extension, wherein the equipment family extension, together with its corresponding fixed equipment family, constitutes the equipment family, wherein the space requirement at the track for the device type assigned to the fixed equipment family and the device type (160) assigned to the equipment family extension is less than or equal to the number of tracks, said tracks having space in the equipment (165) according to the capacity of said exchange workstations in a manner implemented by a plurality of exchange workstations, and wherein the circuit board types that can be assigned to the equipment family extension belonging to the fixed equipment family are the circuit board types that have been assigned to assembly lines different from the circuit board types of said fixed equipment family. f) Determine the allocation of circuit board types to fixed equipment families and equipment family extensions. -The allocation is made such that the space requirement for the track allocated to the device type of the fixed equipment family and the track allocated to the device type of the equipment family extension is less than or equal to the number of tracks, said tracks having space in the equipment (165) according to the capacity of the exchange workstations in a manner implemented by a plurality of exchange workstations; and - The allocation is made such that the total production time for the circuit boards of those circuit board types allocated to the fixed equipment family to be assembled during the planning period does not exceed the predetermined production time limit. g) Optimize specific allocations until the sum of the production times for the advantageous set of additional circuit board types at each assembly line is maximized; -And a favorable set of additional circuit board types at each assembly line is planned when using the equipment family extension. h) and control the equipment of the track with the device, wherein the device type is used for assembling the circuit board in the corresponding fixed equipment family and equipment family extension; i) and by means of equipment from h) the assembled circuit board (120) of the type of circuit board collected from a) on the assembly line (110).

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