Manufacturing line design device, manufacturing line design system, manufacturing line design method, and computer program

Abstract

To shorten a preparation time for a process organization when a plurality of products are manufactured by a plurality of manufacturing lines.SOLUTION: A manufacturing line design device includes: an information acquisition unit that acquires manufacturing information including the number of products to be manufactured, a process load indicating a load in each of a plurality of processes required to manufacture the products, the number of possessed facilities used to perform each of the processes, and a facility capacity indicating a processing capacity in each facility; a classification unit that classifies the products into clusters through clustering the products by using at least one of the number of products to be manufactured, the process load, and each facility capacity; and a design unit that designs a manufacturing line by using a classification result obtained by the classification unit. The design unit distributes the products to any one of a plurality of manufacturing lines in accordance with the classification result and, for each of the manufacturing lines after the distribution, optimizes the number of the facilities allocated to the manufacturing lines, by using the manufacturing information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for designing a manufacturing line. [Background technology]

[0002] There is a known technology for manufacturing products using a production line consisting of multiple processes (for example, For example, see Patent Document 1. The work organization device described in Patent Document 1 has a Then, the work to be performed by the worker, the jigs and tools required for the work, and the equipment are assigned. The work organization device calculates the cost of the jig tools, the depreciation cost of the equipment, and the labor cost as variables in the objective function. By evaluating the production line more thoroughly, we are optimizing the production line. The optimization involves evaluation using objective functions and design based on the experience of experienced process organizers. Techniques using various algorithms are known.

[0003] The line production support system described in Patent Document 2 is a system that processes multiple types of workpieces into work elements. The information on the equipment, the information on the work equipment, and the auxiliary equipment of the work equipment are used as classification indicators. The number of groups is smaller than the number of species. The production sequence is organized into production units consisting of a number of pieces, and the execution order of the same work elements is consecutive. is determined. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-116507 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 05-257947 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In optimizing the manufacturing line, as the number of lines and the number of manufactured products increases, the number of equipment units becomes limited. Even with restrictions, the number of combinations can be enormous. It takes a lot of time to find the optimal solution. When it is not possible to quickly change the existing production line to a new one in response to fluctuations in demand In particular, when quickly changing the production line in response to fluctuations in demand, There is a risk that it will not be possible to reduce the construction costs. describes the work organization based on exhaustive search, and the time required to optimize the production line. There is room for improvement in shortening the time required. In Patent Document 2, a single production line is considered. Therefore, it does not take into consideration the case where products are manufactured on multiple production lines. These challenges are not limited to optimizing production lines, but are also common to optimizing production lines.

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve at least part of the above-mentioned problems, and provides a plurality of To shorten the time required to create a process organization when manufacturing multiple products on a production line. The purpose is to: [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention has been made to solve at least part of the above-mentioned problems, and provides the following: It can be realized in the form.

[0008] (1) According to one aspect of the present invention, a plurality of manufacturing lines for manufacturing a plurality of types of products are set up. This manufacturing line design device includes manufacturing information At least the number of units of each type of product to be manufactured and the number of units required to manufacture the product For each process, the process load representing the load in each process and the amount of work required to perform each process are The number of one or more types of equipment used and the equipment capacity representing the processing capacity of each of the equipment; an information acquisition unit that acquires manufacturing information including the number of manufactured products for each type and the process load; The product is divided into a plurality of groups by clustering using at least one of the load and each facility capacity. A classification unit that classifies the data into clusters, and a manufacturing line design using the classification results from the classification unit. and a design unit that designs all of the products in accordance with the classification results. After the products are allocated to one of the manufacturing lines, For each line, the manufacturing information is used to determine the number of pieces of equipment allocated to the manufacturing line. Optimize the number of units.

[0009] According to this configuration, the products to be manufactured on each production line are distributed according to the classification results of the classification unit. After the allocation, the number of pieces of equipment allocated to each production line is determined appropriately. In other words, in this configuration, the equipment load on the entire manufacturing line, including the distribution of products, is corrected. Rather than optimizing the number of products, after allocating the products to the production lines, Optimization is being carried out. Therefore, optimization is being carried out on all production lines, including product allocation. In comparison with the above case, the number of variables that need to be changed for optimization is reduced in this configuration. In this configuration, the products manufactured on each production line are classified by clustering. Since this is done according to multiple clusters, the composition of products allocated to each production line is This combination is close to the overall optimal solution. Using a solution close to the optimal solution obtained by the above, the equipment for each process assigned to each production line is The number of units is optimized. As a result, the optimal solution is achieved by allocating products to the production line. Using a solution close to the above and a reduced number of parameters, we can estimate the number of machines allocated to each production line. This allows for an optimal number of products to be manufactured on multiple production lines. This reduces the time required to create a process organization.

[0010] (2) In the manufacturing line design device of the above aspect, the classification unit classifies all the products into the classification. The design unit classifies the plurality of clusters by rastering, and the design unit All of the products are sent to any of a plurality of production lines corresponding to the plurality of clusters. You can also allocate them separately. According to this configuration, each product is classified into one of the clusters. Since there are no unclassified products in the raster, one classification result is obtained. This further reduces the time required to create a process organization by optimizing the number of pieces of equipment.

[0011] (3) In the manufacturing line design device of the above aspect, the classification unit The products that have not been classified into any of the clusters by The design unit creates a plurality of types of patterns, and the design unit designs the plurality of types of patterns. Depending on the product, all of the above products are allocated to one of several production lines. That's fine. According to this configuration, products that were not classified into any cluster are classified into any class. A number of patterns are created, each classified into a number of categories. The number of pieces of equipment allocated to each facility is optimized. By creating a pattern in which products that were not classified into one of the clusters are classified into one of the clusters, The number of machines allocated to the production line is more optimal than if no patterns were created. can.

[0012] (4) In the manufacturing line design device of the above aspect, the manufacturing information is The design department uses the number of pieces of equipment in stock as a constraint to design each piece of equipment in one of the manufacturing lines. The equipment for carrying out the process is allocated, and each time the equipment is allocated, the manufacturing line and allocate at least one of the products to the production line. If the allocation is successful, the process is transitioned to the next manufacturing line, and the equipment is allocated. By performing the above-mentioned product allocation, the minimum number of the above-mentioned production lines required may be determined. stomach. According to this configuration, the number of pieces of equipment owned by each type of equipment is used as a constraint, and the allocation of equipment to each production line is determined. The allocation and distribution of products is carried out in order for each production line, The total number of facilities required for each designed production line is determined. Since the number of pieces of equipment will not be exceeded, the process organization that is created is a feasible organization. Therefore, as in the past, an unrealizable process organization was created that did not allow for restrictions on the number of equipment owned. This reduces the calculation time for the process organization of the manufacturing line, and the process organization time In addition, depending on the amount of equipment available, the number of production lines will be reduced to the minimum required number. By appropriately increasing the number of processes, the process organization can be further optimized.

[0013] (5) In the manufacturing line design device of the above aspect, the manufacturing information further includes The cost of equipment required to carry out the process and the cost of labor required to carry out each of the above steps. and at least one of the manufacturing cost and the manufacturing time required to manufacture each of the products, The design department determines at least the equipment cost, the labor cost, and the manufacturing time in the manufacturing information. The objective function, which includes variables representing the number of units assigned to each production line, is minimized. The number of pieces of equipment may be optimized by determining the number of pieces of equipment to be used. According to this configuration, at least one of the equipment cost, labor cost, and manufacturing time is used as a feature. An objective function is used to optimize the number of pieces of equipment assigned to each production line. The reduction in time reduces the manufacturing cost of the product. This includes variables related to the manufacturing costs of the product. In particular, the process organization that suppresses manufacturing costs is created. When changing the equipment allocated to the production line according to the demand, the manufacturing cost of the product is increased. This can effectively reduce construction costs.

[0014] (6) In the manufacturing line design device of the above aspect, the design unit minimizes the objective function. , and the total manufacturing time of the products manufactured on each of the manufacturing lines is a preset upper limit The number of pieces of equipment may be optimized by ensuring that the time is not exceeded. With this configuration, the upper limit of manufacturing time is imposed as a constraint, so the designed In this process configuration, the total manufacturing time is equal to or less than the upper limit time. A manufacturing line is designed that can efficiently manufacture products while satisfying the constraints of manufacturing time. This reduces product manufacturing and capital investment costs and increases profits.

[0015] (7) In the manufacturing line design device of the above aspect, after the allocation of the products, the design unit The total number of the equipment of each type used in all the manufacturing lines in If the number is less than the number of stocks, the number of stocks allocated to each of the manufacturing lines will be determined according to the classification results. The number of equipment units was optimized, and the number of units used in all of the production lines after the allocation of the products was Of the total number of the equipment of each type, the total number of the equipment of at least one type is If the number of the stored data exceeds the number of the stored data, the classification unit stores all the data with the changed clustering conditions. The reclassification of all of the products may be performed. According to this configuration, the total number of pieces of equipment assigned to at least one production line is the number of units owned. If the manufacturing line is designed beyond the limit, that is, it is not feasible, Therefore, according to this configuration, the classification is performed by changing the styling conditions. The number of pieces of equipment allocated to the production line can be optimized for process organization only.

[0016] (8) In the manufacturing line design device of the above aspect, after the allocation of the products, the design unit The total number of the equipment of each type used in all the manufacturing lines in If the number of units is less than the number of units held, the number of units held is the number of units that have been allocated to the equipment of the type that is in surplus to the number of units held. The manufacturing lines are extracted, and the number of the manufacturing lines that are extracted is in the range where there is a surplus. The number of the equipment may be optimized by allocating additional equipment within the range. According to this configuration, if there is a surplus in the number of owned facilities, the extracted surplus is For the production line to which the equipment is assigned, within the range where there is surplus of the same type of equipment. Additional equipment is allocated. When additional equipment is allocated, the number of processes using that equipment is This reduces the work time. In other words, the number of pieces of equipment is reduced at the stage of allocating the equipment to the production line. As a result, with this configuration, the optimized number of equipment units is used as the initial solution. By optimizing the number of pieces of equipment, each production line will be brought closer to an optimal process organization. It can be attached.

[0017] (9) In the manufacturing line design device of the above aspect, the design unit By allocating the equipment to the manufacturing line, the number of processes performed in the manufacturing line can be increased. The maximum cycle time among the cycle times is reduced, and a plurality of the processes are performed. The cycle time of the manufacturing line is equalized. Regarding the equipment, the number of the equipment allocated after leveling is used to calculate the small amount of equipment included in the manufacturing information. of the equipment to be allocated so as to minimize an objective function including variables representing at least one The number of the equipment may be optimized by determining the number of the equipment. According to this configuration, the maximum cycle time of the processes performed in the extracted manufacturing line is In other words, the cycle that can become a bottleneck and cannot be contained within the takt time This reduces the cycle time for multiple processes, and the cycle time for the manufacturing process is leveled out. The time required to manufacture products on the line is kept within the takt time. The cycle time is leveled. The number of pieces of equipment that can be allocated to the selected production line is the number of pieces of equipment that is closest to the optimal solution. The configuration is performed by using the number of equipment units that is closest to the optimal solution as the initial solution, and then adjusting the production so as to minimize the objective function. The number of pieces of equipment allocated to a manufacturing line is determined. This reduces the time required to create a process schedule and allows for the creation of a more optimized process schedule.

[0018] (10) According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a manufacturing line design system. The line design system includes the manufacturing line design device of the above aspect and the above-mentioned driving unit for movement. and a facility, and the design department further In this way, location information for specifying the location where the equipment is located is generated, and the location information is The driving unit of the equipment moves forward to the position indicated by the received position information. Move the above equipment. According to this configuration, the equipment to be allocated to the production line is determined based on the position generated by the design department. The drive unit automatically moves to the position indicated by the information. This allows for easy allocation of equipment.

[0019] The present invention can be realized in various aspects, for example, in a manufacturing line design system. equipment, process organization equipment, manufacturing line design systems, line manufacturing support systems, these equipment and Control method of the system, computer programs executed in the device and system a server device for distributing the computer program; The information can be realized in the form of a non-transitory storage medium or the like that stores the information. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic block diagram of a manufacturing line design system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 10 is a table showing process load information according to the present embodiment. [Figure 3] 10 is a table showing process capability information according to the present embodiment. [Figure 4] This is a table showing the number of units manufactured for each product. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of product classification results. [Figure 6] 1 is a flowchart of a manufacturing line design method. [Figure 7] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating the effects of the line design device of the present embodiment. [Figure 8] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating the effects of the line design device of the present embodiment. [Figure 9] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating the effects of the line design device of the present embodiment. [Figure 10] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating the effects of the line design device of the present embodiment. [Figure 11] 10 is a table showing process load information according to the second embodiment. [Figure 12] 10 is a table showing process load information after allocation of equipment to lines. [Figure 13] 10 is a table showing process load information after allocation of equipment to lines. [Figure 14] 10 is a table showing process capability information according to the second embodiment. [Figure 15] This is a table showing the number of units manufactured for each product. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of product classification results. [Figure 17] 10A to 10C are explanatory diagrams of product allocation results in each allocation pattern. [Figure 18] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating optimization of the number of pieces of equipment allocated to each pattern. [Figure 19] 10 is a flowchart of a manufacturing line design method according to a second embodiment. [Figure 20] 10A and 10B are explanatory diagrams of allocation patterns as an embodiment and objective functions as a comparative example. [Figure 21]FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the production time per day for each production line in the examples and comparative examples. [Figure 22] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the number of pieces of equipment allocated to each production line in an example and a comparative example. [Figure 23] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the number of pieces of equipment allocated to each production line in an example and a comparative example. [Figure 24] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the number of pieces of equipment allocated to each production line in an example and a comparative example. [Figure 25] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the number of pieces of equipment allocated to each production line in an example and a comparative example. [Figure 26] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the number of pieces of equipment allocated to each production line in an example and a comparative example. [Figure 27] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the number of pieces of equipment allocated to each production line in an example and a comparative example. [Figure 28] 10 is a flowchart of a modified manufacturing line design method. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a manufacturing line design system 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The manufacturing line design system 300 of this embodiment includes a line design device (manufacturing line The design device 100 designs a plurality of production lines for manufacturing a plurality of types of products. The in-design device 100 allocates products to be manufactured on the manufacturing lines and calculates the product sizes on each manufacturing line. The allocation of the number of equipment units used to carry out the multiple processes required to manufacture the product After the products are distributed, they are assigned to each production line. The number of machines used is optimized, so product allocation and machine allocation are not separated. In this case, the number of variables to be optimized is reduced. , when optimizing both product allocation and equipment allocation on each production line. Compared to the previous example, the time required to create a process organization can be reduced.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 1, the manufacturing line design system 300 includes a line design device 100, The line of this embodiment is equipped with a plurality of pieces of equipment 201 to 20x each having a drive unit for movement. The design device 100 is a personal computer that processes various types of information. As shown in FIG. 1, the line design device 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing A storage unit 20, an input unit 30, an output unit 40, and various communication units are connected via wireless communication. It also includes a communication unit 50 for transmitting and receiving information.

[0023] The input unit 30 has a keyboard and a mouse. The input information is processed by the CPU 10. The output unit 40 is a monitor that displays an image. The output unit 40 receives the output from the CPU 10. The communication unit 50 displays an image on the monitor and outputs sound from the speaker according to the information. The control information is transmitted to the devices 201 to 20x.

[0024] The storage device 20 is configured with a hard disk drive (HDD) or the like. The storage device 20 stores a process load information database (process load cargo information DB) 21, and a process capability information database (process capability information The process load information includes a plurality of processes required to manufacture a product. , the process load in each process and the number of units of one or more types of equipment used to perform each process. The process capability information is data that corresponds to multiple processes and the number of processes required to perform each process. The number of machines used in the production line, the capacity of the machine, and the manufacturing line This data is associated with the equipment costs required to operate one piece of equipment.

[0025] FIG. 2 is a table showing the process load information of this embodiment. The number of facilities represents the number of facilities owned for the purpose of manufacturing, and the burden of the processes required to manufacture the product. The "Number of Equipment" column shows the number of equipment that can be used in each corresponding process. For example, the number of pieces of equipment required to execute process 1 is one. Similarly, for steps 2 to 8, there is one piece of equipment for each of steps 2 to 8. There are four pieces of equipment for performing step 9 and ten pieces of equipment for performing step 10. In order to carry out step 9, four pieces of equipment are required. Therefore, in this embodiment, one piece of equipment is used to perform steps 1 to 8. Since there is only one piece of equipment, it can only be assigned to one production line. Since four pieces of equipment are used to carry out step 9, they can be assigned to a maximum of four production lines. It is possible. In addition, if more than one piece of equipment of the same type is allocated to one production line, This reduces the cycle time of the process performed by the equipment.

[0026] The process load information for each product 1 to y (y=1, 2, . . . , 18) corresponds to the process. In the table, the load applied to one piece of equipment to manufacture the product is entered as a numerical value. The entered values ​​are standardized values ​​with the reference value set at 100. For example, In order to manufacture product 1, one facility is required to carry out steps 9-15, 17-18, and 20-25. Similarly, for product 2 to be produced, product 1 must be included in the production line. The same equipment used to manufacture the product must be included in one production line. If the load on each piece of equipment when Product 1 is manufactured is 100, then the load on each piece of equipment when Product 2 is manufactured is When steps 9, 10, 12, 14, 17 to 18, and 21 are performed, the load of product 1 On the other hand, the load of product 2 is 118.7 at step 11 and 107 at step 13. .5, 112.5 at step 15, 104.5 at step 20, 120.2 at step 22, 120.2 at step 23 108.9 in step 24, 98.4 in step 25, and 106.0 in step 26. This differs from the load on the equipment when the process is carried out.

[0027] FIG. 3 is a table showing process capability information of this embodiment. The number of equipment units represents the number of equipment owned, and the capacity of each equipment unit for each process. , the equipment cost incurred when one piece of equipment is assigned to a production line, and are shown in a table. "Facility capacity" includes, for example, the processing speed of the workpieces to be processed. "Facility costs" are the costs required to operate one piece of equipment per unit of time when carrying out each process. The line design device 100 uses the process load information shown in FIG. 2 and the The process is organized using the process capability information.

[0028] The CPU 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a R A computer program stored in ROM connected to AM (Random Access Memory) As shown in FIG. 1, the CPU 10 loads the process load information and an information acquisition unit 11 for acquiring process capability information, a classification unit 12 for classifying the processes of each production line. It functions as a design unit 13 that organizes the data.

[0029] The information acquisition unit 11 receives information input via the input unit 30 in addition to the process load information and the process capacity information. The number of units manufactured for each type of product is obtained. Figure 4 shows the number of units manufactured for each product. Figure 4 shows the number of units manufactured for each product. In the example shown in Figure 4, The number of units manufactured was 8,975, and the number of units manufactured for Product 2 was 7,702. The number of units to be manufactured, process load information, and process capacity information correspond to manufacturing information.

[0030] The classification unit 12 classifies the number of manufactured units of each product, the process load included in the process load information, and the process capacity information. Using the facility capacity included in the information, all products 1 to 18 are clustered into multiple clusters. Clustering methods include hierarchical clustering, Well-known methods such as non-hierarchical clustering and their derivative algorithms can be used. can.

[0031] FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the classification results of products 1 to 18. In FIG. 5, each clustered Product positions I1 to I18 are shown, which represent the positions of products 1 to 18. The classification unit 12 classifies the products 1 to 18 into five clusters. As shown in FIG. 2 classifies products 1 to 5 as cluster 1, products 8 to 10 as cluster 2, and products Products 16 to 18 are classified as cluster 3, products 11 to 15 are classified as cluster 4, and products 6 is classified as cluster 5. In Figure 5, the distance between product positions is shown in two dimensions for convenience. Therefore, products 1 to 5 are classified into cluster 1 and products 2 are classified into cluster 2. The distance between the data of the classified products 7 to 10 is close, but in three dimensions the distance between the data is As a result, the classification unit 12 classifies the products I1 to I5 and the product I6. Products I7 to I10 were classified into a separate cluster.

[0032] The design unit 13 classifies all the products 1 to 18 into a plurality of classes according to the classification results of the classification unit 12. The products are then assigned to one of the multiple production lines corresponding to the design parameters 1 to 5. The calculation unit 13 calculates the clusters 1 to 5 in accordance with the products manufactured on the production lines 1 to 5. For example, the design department 13 assigns products 1 to 5 classified into cluster 1 to the manufacturing line. Products 7 to 10 in Cluster 2 are classified as products manufactured in In-1 and in Cluster 3, respectively. The products will be allocated as products manufactured in Project 2.

[0033] The design department 13 is responsible for the design of the equipment for each type to be used in all production lines after product allocation. The design department 13 determines whether the total number of vehicles is equal to or less than the number of vehicles owned. If it is determined that the number of vehicles owned is less than the number of vehicles owned by the classification unit 12, the classification unit 12 classifies each manufacturing line. On the other hand, the design department 13 optimizes the number of pieces of equipment allocated to each If it is determined that the total number of at least one type of equipment exceeds the number of owned equipment, the classification unit 1 2 performs reclassification of all products with the changed clustering conditions. Of the equipment units allocated to the production line, even if the total number of one type of equipment exceeds the number of units owned, If the product is not in stock, it will not be possible to manufacture all products. 12 again classifies the products into multiple clusters. The conditions for changing the clustering are For example, the distance criteria between data, the distance calculation method between clusters, and the clustering Algorithms and the like are included.

[0034] Once all products have been allocated to production lines that can manufacture them, the allocated products will be The process that constitutes each production line is determined according to the process. The design department 13 determines the type of equipment to be allocated to the process. In this embodiment, the design unit 13 allocates the minimum number of pieces of equipment to the production line. The design department 13 allocates one piece of equipment of the same type to the production line. If the total number of equipment units used in all production lines is less than the number of units owned, The design department 13 extracts a manufacturing line to which a type of equipment with a surplus number is assigned. Allocate additional equipment to the selected production lines within the range of surplus units. For example, the number of machines required for the production of all products 1 to 18 is The equipment used in the key process 10 (Fig. 2) is used in all five manufacturing processes corresponding to clusters 1 to 5. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the equipment required to perform step 10 is Since the number of machines owned by the company is 10, the design department 13 has This will allow us to optimize the number of pieces of equipment allocated to each production line.

[0035] The design department 13 allocates additional equipment to the extracted manufacturing line, thereby The cycle time of multiple processes performed in the process is reduced to the maximum. The design department 13 performs the process of leveling the cycle time of multiple processes. For the production line, the objective function is optimized using the number of equipment units allocated after leveling. Optimize the number of equipment by determining the number of equipment to be allocated so as to minimize the number of equipment. In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a process and an equipment for performing the process are paired. Since the production lines are individually associated, the design department 13 does not need to optimize each production line as a whole. In this embodiment, the design unit 13 performs optimization by leveling. The objective function KPI (Key Performance Indicator) is minimized using the initial solution of the number of equipment. The objective function KPI is the equipment cost and the cycle time. The relationship between the production time, the number of units produced for each product, and the number of pieces of equipment allocated to each production line is used as variables. When the objective function KPI satisfies a preset target value, the design unit 13 On the other hand, if the objective function KPI does not meet the target value, the optimization is terminated. The optimization is then completed, or the classification unit 12 performs clustering again. The algorithms include well-known algorithms such as genetic algorithms, approximation algorithms, and simulated annealing. The following method can be used.

[0036] The design department 13 selects the equipment 201 according to the manufacturing line to which the equipment 201 to 20x is assigned. The design unit 13 generates position information that specifies the position where the 20x is to be placed. The location information is transmitted to each of the facilities 201 to 20x corresponding to the location where the facilities are installed via the communication unit 50. In this embodiment, the communication unit 50 and the design unit 13 are collectively referred to as the "design unit." It can also be made into eggplant.

[0037] The equipment 201 shown in FIG. 2 includes a drive control unit (drive unit) 22 that controls the movement of the equipment 201. 1 and a moving unit (driving unit) 211 that is driven under the control of a drive control unit 221. The moving unit 211 has four control signals for moving in a predetermined direction by the drive control unit 221. The drive control unit 221 is a battery for operating the moving unit 211 and a a receiving unit for receiving the position information transmitted from the position information receiving unit 13; It is equipped with a control unit that controls the moving unit 211 to move to the other equipment ( For example, the equipment 20x also includes a similar drive control unit 221 and a moving unit 211. Therefore, each of the facilities 201 to 20x in this embodiment uses the location information transmitted from the design unit 13. Depending on the location, the device will automatically move to the location indicated by the location information.

[0038] 6 is a flowchart of a manufacturing line design method. First, the information acquisition unit 11 acquires process load information, process capacity information, and the manufacturing time of each product. The classification unit 12 performs an information acquisition step of acquiring the process load information and the number of processes (step S1). Using the process capability information and the number of units manufactured for each product, products 1 to 18 are clustered. The data are classified into a number of clusters (step S2).

[0039] The design unit 13 classifies all the products 1 to 18 into a plurality of clusters according to the classification results of the classification unit 12. The products are then assigned to one of a plurality of production lines corresponding to 1 to 5 (step S3). The design department 13 designs the equipment tables for each type to be used in all production lines after product allocation. It is determined whether the total number of assigned settings is equal to or less than the number of owned units (step S4). If it is determined that the total number of vehicles equipped is greater than the number of vehicles owned (step S4: NO), The unit 12 performs reclassification of all products 1 to 18 after changing the clustering conditions (step Step S2).

[0040] In the process of step S3, it is determined that the total number of allocated equipment units is equal to or less than the number of owned units. If so (step S4: YES), the design unit 13 selects a type of design that has a surplus in the number of vehicles owned. The design unit 13 extracts the manufacturing line to which the equipment is assigned (step S5). By allocating additional equipment to a production line, multiple processes performed on the production line can be The maximum cycle time among the cycle times is reduced to make the cycle time of multiple processes shorter. The design section 13 averages the production time of the processes that make up each manufacturing line (step S6). The number of pieces of equipment is determined to minimize the cycle time of the process with the longest cycle time. Optimize.

[0041] The design department 13 compares the initial solution for the number of equipment units obtained by leveling the cycle time with the solution shown in Figure 3. Using the process capability information, the objective function KPI for each production line is minimized. The number of pieces of equipment allocated to each production line is optimized (step S7). It is determined whether the value of the objective function KPI satisfies a preset target value (step S8 If it is determined that the value of the objective function KPI meets the target value (step S8: If YES, the line design flow is completed. The design unit 13 performs the The location information that specifies the location of the equipment is generated and the location information is sent to each piece of equipment. The equipment 201 to 20x that receives the transmitted location information travels to the location indicated by the location information. The process from step S3 to step S7 corresponds to the design process.

[0042] In the process of step S8, it is determined that the value of the objective function KPI does not satisfy the target value. If the result is NO in step S8, the design department 13 allocates each product to the production line. and the number of pieces of equipment to be allocated to each production line. (Step S9). The design unit 13 determines whether there is room for process reorganization, for example, by changing the number of manufacturing lines. On the other hand, the design department 13 determines that a reconsideration is necessary if there is a problem. If the number of steps cannot be changed and a more optimal process organization cannot be obtained, it is determined that reconsideration is not necessary. If it is determined that reconsideration is necessary (step S9: YES), the classification unit 12 , and reclassify all products 1 to 18 after changing the clustering conditions (step S 2) If it is determined that reconsideration is not necessary (step S9: NO), the line design flow The row ends.

[0043] 7 to 10 are diagrams illustrating the effects of the line design device 100 of this embodiment. 7 is a diagram showing the process load information shown in FIG. 2 and the process capability information shown in FIG. , and the number of manufactured products shown in FIG. 4 are given, the production line design device 100 The process organization of the example and the process organization of the comparative example are shown in a table. is a process configuration created by a skilled worker. As shown in Figure 7, the comparison In the example, the products allocated to production lines 1, 4, and 5 are the same, but the products allocated to production lines 2, The products assigned to category 3 are different.

[0044] FIG. 8 shows a list of the number of pieces of equipment allocated to each of lines 1 to 5 in the embodiment. In FIG. 9, the number of pieces of equipment allocated to each of the lines 1 to 5 in the comparative example is The table below shows the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 and the embodiment shown in FIG. 9. The number of equipment used in processes 10, 13, 15, and 24 on line 2 and the number of equipment used in processes 10, 13, 15, and 24 on line 3 The number of machines used in process 13 on line 1 and the number of machines used in process 24 on line 4 The number of machines used for process 15 on line 5 is different from the number of machines used for process 15 on line 5. As a result, As shown in FIG. 10, the equipment cost of the example calculated using the objective function KPI is 18 583. Similarly, the equipment cost of the comparative example calculated using the objective function KPI is 19408, and the equipment cost of the example is lower than that of the comparative example.

[0045] As described above, in the production line design device 100 of this embodiment, the information acquisition unit 11 Process load information, process capacity information including the number of owned equipment units, and the number of manufactured units of each product are acquired. The classification unit 12 classifies the products into categories by using the process load information, the process capacity information, and the number of manufactured units of each product. The design unit 13 classifies the data items 1 to 18 into multiple clusters by clustering. Products to be manufactured on each production line are allocated according to the clusters that have been further classified. After product allocation, the process load information, process capacity information, and the number of manufactured units of each product are used to calculate the Therefore, the number of pieces of equipment allocated to each manufacturing line is optimized. In the design device 100, the products to be manufactured on each production line are assigned according to the classification results of the classification unit 12. After allocation, the number of equipment units allocated to each production line is optimized. That is, in this embodiment, the number of pieces of equipment in all production lines, including the allocation of products, is optimized. Instead of this, optimization is carried out on each production line after the products are allocated to the production line. Therefore, if optimization including product allocation is performed on all production lines, In comparison with the above, in this embodiment, the number of variables to be changed for optimization is reduced. The allocation of products to be manufactured on each production line is based on multiple classifications classified by clustering. Since this is done according to the raster, the product combinations allocated to each production line are This is a solution close to the overall optimal solution. The number of pieces of equipment allocated to each production line is optimized using a solution close to the optimal solution obtained. As a result, there are solutions close to the optimal solution required for allocating products to the manufacturing line, and solutions with reduced The number of equipment units allocated to each production line is optimized using the number of variables. Therefore, the time required to create a process organization when manufacturing multiple products on multiple production lines is can be shortened.

[0046] As shown in FIG. 5, the classification unit 12 of this embodiment classifies a total of 18 products 1 to 18. All products are classified into one of clusters 1 to 5. That is, each of products 1 to 18 is always classified into one of clusters 1 to 5, and is not classified into any of clusters 1 to 5. Since there is no product, one classification result is derived. Since there is one classification result, the appropriate number of equipment units is The time required to create a process organization through corrective adjustment can be further reduced.

[0047] Furthermore, the objective function KPI used by the design unit 13 of this embodiment to optimize the number of equipment units is Equipment costs, cycle time, number of units produced for each product, and number of units allocated to each manufacturing line The design unit 13 calculates the manufacturing line so as to minimize the objective function KPI. The objective function KPI is to optimize the number of machines to be allocated to each machine. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to suppress costs. In particular, the manufacturing line is adjusted according to the demand fluctuations in the number of products manufactured. When changing the equipment allocated to a particular process, the processing costs of the product can be effectively reduced. It can be reduced.

[0048] In addition, the design unit 13 of this embodiment is used in all production lines after product allocation. The design department 13 determines whether the total number of equipment units of each type is equal to or less than the number of owned equipment units. , and it is determined that the total number of at least one type of equipment exceeds the number of owned equipment. In this case, the classification unit 12 executes reclassification of all products for which the clustering conditions have been changed. In this embodiment, the total number of pieces of equipment allocated to at least one production line is exceeds the number of units owned, i.e., an unrealizable production line is designed. Classification is performed again with the clustering conditions changed. The number of pieces of equipment allocated to a production line can be optimized for only feasible process configurations.

[0049] In addition, the design department 13 of this current form is used in all production lines after product allocation. If the total number of equipment units of each type to be acquired is less than the number of units owned, the equipment units of the type with a surplus in the number of units owned will be used. The design unit 13 extracts the manufacturing line to which the equipment is assigned. On the other hand, by allocating additional equipment within the range of surplus owned units, In this embodiment, if there is a surplus in the number of owned equipment, the equipment is extracted. For a production line to which equipment of a certain type is allocated, if there is surplus equipment of the same type, Additional facilities are allocated within a certain range. When additional facilities are allocated, The working time of the process using the equipment is shortened. That is, the equipment is allocated to the production line. As a result, the number of pieces of equipment is optimized at this stage. According to the study, the optimized number of equipment is set as the initial solution and the number of equipment is further increased using the objective function KPI. By optimizing the process, the manufacturing line can be brought closer to an optimal process organization.

[0050] In addition, the design unit 13 of this embodiment can allocate additional equipment to the extracted manufacturing line. This allows us to calculate the maximum cycle time of multiple processes on a manufacturing line. The design department 13 reduces the cycle time and equalizes the cycle time of multiple processes. For a production line where the queue time has been leveled, the number of equipment units allocated after leveling is used. The number of equipment units to be allocated is determined so as to minimize the objective function KPI. In this embodiment, the number of facilities is optimized among the processes performed in the extracted manufacturing line. That is, the maximum cycle time becomes smaller, that is, the bottleneck that does not fit into the takt time The cycle time that can become a block is reduced, and the cycle time of multiple processes is leveled out. This ensures that the time required to manufacture a product on the production line is within the takt time. The number of pieces of equipment allocated to the production line with leveled cycle times is approaching the optimal solution. The production line design device 100 of this embodiment first calculates the number of pieces of equipment that is close to the optimal solution. As a first solution, the number of pieces of equipment to be allocated to the production line is determined so as to minimize the objective function KPI. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the time required to create a process organization when manufacturing multiple products. This allows for the creation of a more optimized process organization.

[0051] In addition, the design unit 13 of this embodiment determines whether the equipment 201 to 20x is allocated to the manufacturing line. In response, the design unit 1 generates position information that identifies the positions where the equipment 201 to 20x are to be placed. 3 transmits the generated location information to each facility 2 corresponding to the location where the facility is to be installed via the communication unit 50. Each of the facilities 201 to 20x in this embodiment is transmitted from the design department 13 to The device will automatically move to the location indicated by the location information sent from the device. In the embodiment, the equipment 201 to 20x allocated to the production line is created by the design department 13. The drive control unit 221 and the movement unit 211 automatically move the object to the position indicated by the generated position information. Therefore, in this embodiment, the equipment to be allocated to the production line can be easily arranged.

[0052] Second Embodiment The manufacturing line design system 300 of the second embodiment is a system for designing a manufacturing line for the manufacturing system of the first embodiment shown in FIG. The manufacturing line design system according to the second embodiment has the same configuration as the line design system 300. In 300, compared to the first embodiment, the clustering method performed by the classification unit 12 and the design The method of allocating the products 1 to 18 performed by the division 13 is different from that of the second embodiment. The information, the process capacity information, and the number of manufactured units of each product are the same as the process load information in the first embodiment. The information (Fig. 2), process capability information (Fig. 3), and the number of units manufactured for each product (Fig. 4) are different. In this embodiment, the configuration, control, and data contents that are different from those in the first embodiment will be described. A description of the same configuration as in the embodiment will be omitted.

[0053] In the second embodiment, the design unit 13 performs clustering of products by the classification unit 12. Before, the number of machines required for each process (number of machines) was set as a constraint. The design department 13 allocates equipment to perform each process of one production line. Each time allocation is made, products that can be manufactured on that production line are allocated. After allocating the products to one production line, the calculation unit 13 shifts the process to the next production line. By allocating equipment and distributing products, the minimum number of production lines required can be achieved. The following uses a specific example to calculate the allocation of equipment and product distribution in the design department 13. Explain the process.

[0054] FIG. 11 is a table showing process load information of the second embodiment. The load information is different from the process load information of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Instead of product 8, product 8A and product 8B have been added. The steps required to manufacture 19 products are steps 9 to 25, and steps 1 to 8 are unnecessary. The figures for the number of facilities and the load for product manufacturing have been changed.

[0055] When allocating equipment and distributing products, the design department 13 first allocates equipment. The design unit 13 selects one manufacturing line (for example, line 1) for the design. Using the table, the load information specified for each process on the selected line 1 is calculated. The design department 13 allocates the equipment in order until one of the products can be manufactured. If we assign the equipment from process 9 to process 25 to line 1 in order, all products on line 1 will be Here, the design department 13 prepares the equipment required to manufacture the product 1 on a line. 1 and return unnecessary equipment from line 1 to the equipment pool.

[0056] FIG. 12 is a table showing the process load information after the equipment has been assigned to Line 1. As shown in the figure, Line 1 does not have any processes other than the equipment for processes 16 and 19 that are not required for the production of Product 1. Processes 9 to 15, 17, 18, and 20 to 25 are allocated. In this case, production can be done on line 1. The products that can be manufactured are the hatched products 1 to 10 in Figure 12. The number shown in the pool is the number of owned equipment minus the number of equipment allocated to Line 1. The number is the result of subtracting .

[0057] When the design department 13 allocates the equipment to line 1, it transfers the processing to the next manufacturing line, line The design unit 13 uses the table shown in FIG. Until one of the products specified in the process information can be manufactured, the equipment pool Based on the number of pieces of equipment, the equipment is allocated in order, just like the equipment was allocated to Line 1. If we assign the equipment from process 9 to process 25 to line 2 in order, the same results will be obtained as for line 1. Similarly, all products can be manufactured on line 2. Here, the design department 13 determines whether all products are to be manufactured on line 1. The equipment required to manufacture product 11, which is not manufactured, is left on line 2, and unnecessary equipment is moved to line Return from 1 to the equipment pool.

[0058] FIG. 13 is a table showing the process load information after the equipment has been assigned to Line 2. As shown in the figure, Line 2 includes processes 9 to 10, 15, 17, and 18 required for the production of Product 11. In this case, the equipment that can be manufactured on Line 2 is allocated to 19, 20, 22 to 25. The products are hatched products 11 and 12 in FIG. 13. The number shown in the table is the number of units of equipment allocated to Line 1 and Line 2 from the total number of units owned. This is the number minus the allocated number.

[0059] The design department 13 allocates equipment and product distribution to line 3 in the same way as lines 1 and 2. If all products cannot be completed in one allocation to each line, the design department 13 ,Starting from line 1, equipment allocation and product allocation are performed again. All products are allocated. As a result, in the second embodiment, products 1 to 10 are manufactured on line 1, and Products 11 to 15 are manufactured on line 2, and products 16 to 18 are manufactured on line 3. The products manufactured on each line by the design department 13 are allocated based on the number of machines owned. Therefore, the lines 1 to 3 designed by the design department 13 are feasible manufacturing lines. It's in.

[0060] 14 is a table showing the process capability information of the second embodiment. The classification unit 12 classifies the process loads (FIG. 11) included in the process load information into Using the equipment capacity included in the process capacity information (Figure 14), a total of 19 products, products 1 to 18, were calculated. In the second embodiment, the first product is classified into a plurality of clusters by clustering. Unlike the embodiment, all products do not necessarily have to be classified into any one of the clusters. In other words, the classification unit 12 of the second embodiment classifies a part of all products into clusters. Classify into more clusters.

[0061] In the example shown in Figures 11 to 13, products 1 to 18 are distributed to lines 1 to 3. Line 2, which produces products 11 to 15, and Line 3, which produces products 16 to 18, are processes The number of machines that perform process 19 is shown in Figure 11. Therefore, Line 2 or Line 3 can be further divided into multiple lines. In order to do this, three or more machines are required to carry out process 19. The line 3 cannot be divided into multiple lines. Clustering products 1 to 10 on line 1, which is assigned equipment with available units do.

[0062] FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of the classification results of products 1 to 10. In FIG. 16, the clustered products are Also shown are product positions I1 to I10, which represent the positions of the products 1 to 10. The classification unit 12 classifies a total of 11 products, from products 1 to 10, into two clusters 6 and 7 and a cluster The three products that are not classified as either 6 or 7 are classified as 6, 7, and 10. As shown in the figure, the classification unit 12 classifies products 1 to 5 into cluster 6, and products 8A, 8B, 9 is classified as cluster 7. In FIG. 16, as in FIG. 5 of the first embodiment, The distance between product locations is conveniently represented in two dimensions.

[0063] The classification unit 12 of the second embodiment classifies the products 6, 7, and 10 that are far from the distance criterion, which is a threshold value. The products are not classified into clusters 6 and 7. On the other hand, the classification unit 12 classifies the products 6, 7, and 10 that were not classified. Create multiple allocation patterns that classify the data into either cluster 6 or cluster 7. The design unit 13 of the second embodiment creates a plurality of types of allocation patterns. Optimize the number of pieces of equipment allocated to each production line.

[0064] FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of the product allocation results for each allocation pattern. The combination of products allocated to production lines 1 to 4 of the distribution pattern is shown in a table. In addition, the three products 6, 7, and 1 that were not classified by the clustering shown in Figure 16 If we divide 0 into two clusters, 6 and 7, the number of patterns is 8 (=2 3 ) pattern However, in the second embodiment, the distances between the three products 6, 7, and 10 and the clusters 6 and 7 are used to calculate The allocation patterns have been narrowed down to five that are closer to optimal.

[0065] The design unit 13 selects each manufacturing process in the five sorting patterns narrowed down by the classification unit 12. The design department 13 extracts the production lines that can be optimized. If there is a surplus in the number of machines required to manufacture the requested product, they will be assigned to the production line. By changing the number of pieces of equipment to be allocated, the manufacturing line can be extracted as an optimal design. The department will level the cycle time for the extracted production line in the same way as in the first embodiment. After that, the design department 13 determines the number of pieces of equipment to be allocated to the extracted production line. By changing the above, the number of equipment units can be optimized.

[0066] FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram of the optimization of the number of pieces of equipment allocated to each pattern. In 18, four production lines 1 to 4 each perform three processes A, B, and C, and process A, An example is shown in which the number of machines owned for B and C is a, b, and c, respectively. In this embodiment, the design unit 13 minimizes the objective function KPI and calculates the number of parts manufactured on each production line. By ensuring that the total manufacturing time of each product does not exceed a preset upper limit, The number of pieces of equipment allocated to the production line is optimized. Specifically, the design department 13 considers the following factors: By minimizing the objective function KPI while satisfying the constraints shown in equation (1), The following relational expression (1) is for process A, where the production line number is y. Then, the number of equipment units in each production line is L Ay The design section 13 is a constraint on the process A. After the optimization, the process B and the process C are also optimized in the same way, and as shown in FIG. Optimization is performed again from step A.

[0067]

number

[0068] Bottleneck CT in the above relational expression (1) A is the bottleneck cycle time A bottleneck is a process that does not fit within the takt time. In the above formula (1), the production time of the production line is 16 hours of operation per day and 1000 units per month. The constraint on the manufacturing time for one month is set as the time multiplied by the number of working days in a month (22 days). That is, in the second embodiment, the manufacturing time is included as a parameter for determining the objective function KPI. It is being eaten.

[0069] FIG. 19 is a flowchart of the manufacturing line design method according to the second embodiment. In the line design flow, examples of manufacturing information shown in Figures 11, 14, and 15 are explained. As shown in FIG. 6, first, the information acquisition unit 11 performs the process in the same manner as in the first embodiment. An information acquisition process is carried out to acquire process load information, process capacity information, and the number of manufactured units of each product (step Step S11). The design section 13 uses the process load information shown in FIG. The products to be manufactured on each production line are allocated based on the number of products (step S12). In this embodiment, the design department 1 allocates products to each manufacturing line as shown in FIGS. 11 to 13. 3) Select one production line to allocate equipment to and distribute products to the selected production line. The next production line to which the equipment will be newly allocated is selected in turn. For the 19 products shown in Figure 11, products 1 to 10 are assigned to line 1, and Products 11 to 15 are assigned to line 2, and products 16 to 18 are assigned to line 3.

[0070] After the product allocation, the classification unit 12 classifies the products manufactured on the line 1 by clustering. The classification unit 12 classifies the equipment into 1 to 10 (step S13). In the second embodiment, clustering is performed on a line 1 that can be divided into multiple lines. ,All products 1 to 10 are necessarily classified into one of the clusters by clustering. Good too.

[0071] The classification unit 12 classifies products 6, 7, and 10 (FIG. 16) that were not classified into any cluster. , cluster 6 including products 1 to 5 or cluster 7 including products 8A, 8B, and 9. The design unit 13 creates two distribution patterns (FIG. 17) (step S14). Among the five allocation patterns, we selected the production lines that can be optimized. The design department 13 determines whether there is a surplus in the number of machines in possession for manufacturing the product (step S15). If there is a manufacturing line that can be optimized, the manufacturing line that manufactures the product is extracted. .

[0072] The design unit 13 allocates additional equipment to the extracted manufacturing line in the same manner as in the first embodiment. By applying the same method, the cycle times of the multiple processes are equalized (step S16). The design unit 13 of the embodiment minimizes the objective function KPI that includes the manufacturing time as a constraint. The number of pieces of equipment allocated to each production line is optimized so as to achieve this (step S17).

[0073] FIG. 20 shows the explanation of the objective function KPI of the allocation patterns 1 to 5 as an embodiment and the comparative example. As shown in FIG. 20, the objective function K PI is the objective function KPI of the production line designed by the expert designer in the comparative example. In other words, the objective function KPIs of the distribution patterns 1 to 5 are better than those of the comparative example. In addition to the objective function KPI values, FIG. 20 also shows the line graphs for each example and comparative example. The maximum production time among patterns 1 to 4 is shown. In the example, five distribution patterns 1 to 4 are used. Among the 5 patterns, four allocation patterns 1, 2, 4, and 5 are within the constraint of the manufacturing time, 4 p.m. For comparison, Fig. 20 also shows a case where the constraints on manufacturing time are met. Although we have shown allocation pattern 3, which does not satisfy the constraints during optimization, Therefore, this manufacturing line is not a candidate for design.

[0074] FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram of the production time per day for each production line in the example and comparative example. In Figure 21, the production lines 1 to 4 are shown by changing the type of hatching. The production time for each production line is shown in the bar graph. As described above, the production line 2 of the example with the allocation pattern 3 and the production line 2 of the comparative example are controlled. This exceeds the production time of 16 hours, which is the approximate production time. Then, the production line 2 of the allocation pattern 1, the production line 2 of the allocation pattern 2, and the The production time for production line 3 with allocation pattern 4 and production line 2 with allocation pattern 5 is is shown.

[0075] Each of the figures from FIG. 22 to FIG. 27 is assigned to each production line in the example and comparative example. 22 to 26 are explanatory diagrams of the number of pieces of equipment allocated to each of the examples. The number of equipment units allocated to lines 1 to 4 in patterns 1 to 5 is shown in a table. Similarly, FIG. 27 shows the equipment units assigned to lines 1 to 4 in the comparative example. The numbers are shown in a table.

[0076] When the process of step S17 in the line design flow of FIG. 19 is performed, the same as in the first embodiment In this way, the design unit 13 determines whether the value of the objective function KPI satisfies a preset target value. If it is determined that the value of the objective function KPI satisfies the target value, the process proceeds to step S18. If so (step S18: YES), the line design flow ends. If it is determined that the value does not satisfy the target value (step S8: NO), the design unit 13 As in the first embodiment, the allocation of each product to the production line and the allocation of each production line are It is determined whether or not the number of pieces of equipment to be allocated needs to be reconsidered (step S19). If it is determined that reconsideration is necessary (step S19: YES), step S12 The following process is performed. If it is determined that reconsideration is not necessary (step S9: NO), ), the line design flow is completed.

[0077] As described above, in the second embodiment, the sorting unit 12 sorts the unsorted products 6, 7, There are multiple allocation patterns that classify 10 into either cluster 6 or cluster 7. The design unit 13 of the second embodiment creates the plurality of types of distribution patterns. For each of these, the number of pieces of equipment allocated to each production line is optimized. According to the data, products 6, 7, and 10, which were not classified into clusters 6 and 7, were classified into clusters Multiple types of allocation patterns are created, classified into clusters 6 and 7. The number of pieces of equipment allocated to the production line is optimized for the allocation pattern. In other words, products 6, 7, and 10 that were not classified by clustering were classified into cluster 6 or cluster 1. By creating a distribution pattern classified into raster 7, the distribution pattern is created. This allows for a more optimized number of pieces of equipment allocated to a production line than would be possible if this were not the case.

[0078] In the second embodiment, the design unit 13 performs clustering of products by the classification unit 12. Before the process begins, the number of machines (number of machines) required for each type of equipment is set as a constraint. The design department 13 allocates equipment for each process of one production line. Each time the equipment is allocated, the products that can be manufactured on that production line are also allocated. After allocating the products to one production line, the design department 13 transfers the process to the next production line. By having them allocate equipment and distribute products, the minimum necessary manufacturing lines can be achieved. In other words, the allocation of equipment to each production line and the distribution of products are The minimum number of production lines required is determined by the process being carried out in order for each production line. The total number of each type of equipment to be equipped in each designed production line exceeds the number of equipment units owned. Therefore, the process organization that is created is a feasible organization. This prevents the creation of an unrealizable process organization that does not allow for restrictions on the number of owned equipment. This reduces the calculation time for scheduling the manufacturing line processes, thereby speeding up the process scheduling time. In addition, depending on the number of units owned by each type of equipment, the minimum number of production lines required will be determined. By appropriately increasing the number of processes, the process organization can be further optimized.

[0079] In the second embodiment, the design unit 13 minimizes the objective function KPI and Ensure that the total manufacturing time of products manufactured in the factory does not exceed a preset upper limit By doing so, the number of pieces of equipment allocated to each production line is optimized. Since the upper limit of the manufacturing time is imposed as a constraint, the total manufacturing time is That is, in the second embodiment, the constraints on the manufacturing time are not satisfied. This allows for efficient product manufacturing and Capital investment costs are reduced and profits increase.

[0080] <Modifications of the embodiment> The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It can be implemented in various ways, and for example, the following modifications are also possible. In the above embodiment, a part of the configuration realized by hardware may be realized by software. Conversely, the configuration may be realized by software. A part of the above may be replaced with hardware.

[0081] [Variation 1] In the above embodiment, a manufacturing line design device that designs a manufacturing line for manufacturing a product is Although an example of a manufacturing line design system including a manufacturing line design device has been described, The configuration and control executed by the in-design device 100 and the manufacturing line design system 300 For example, the line design device 100 includes a storage device 20 and an input It is also possible to eliminate any or all of the unit 30, the output unit 40, and the communication unit 50. For example, the line design device 100 includes a storage device 20, an input unit 30, and an output unit 40. If not, the information acquisition unit 11 acquires the process load information, the process capacity information, and the number of manufactured units of each product. The information may be acquired from another device via the communication unit 50. The created process organization may be transmitted as data to other devices.

[0082] The classification unit 12 in the above embodiment uses the number of manufactured units of each product, the process load, and the facility capacity to classify the All products were classified into multiple clusters by clustering. The features that can be used are at least one of the number of manufactured products, process load, and equipment capacity. Just use

[0083] The design department 13 in the above embodiment allocates all products to one of a plurality of production lines. Then, we extract the production lines that are assigned with equipment of the type that has surplus units in possession. Although additional equipment is assigned to the selected manufacturing line, the manufacturing line may not be extracted. When the total number of equipment units for each type is less than the number of units owned, the design department 13 may, for example, Alternatively, the design unit 13 of the above embodiment may allocate additional facilities to the selected facilities. By allocating additional equipment to the production line, the multiple production processes performed on that production line can be reduced. The cycle times of several processes have been leveled, but the production line has not been leveled in cycle time. The number of allocated equipment units may be optimized. Even if the cycle time is not leveled, By minimizing the objective function KPI, the number of pieces of equipment allocated to the production line can be optimized. It is possible.

[0084] In the above embodiment, the design unit 13 allocates the products to the production lines, and then optimizes the objective function KPI. By minimizing the number of pieces of equipment allocated to the production line, The design unit 13 may perform optimization closer to the objective function without optimization. The number of equipment units may be optimized using a well-known objective function other than the number of KPIs. The number of equipment units may be optimized by other well-known methods.

[0085] The manufacturing information acquired by the information acquisition unit 11 in the above embodiment further includes information on the process of executing each process. This includes labor costs, which are the costs required to manufacture each product, and manufacturing time, which is the time required to manufacture each product. Alternatively, the manufacturing information may include labor costs and manufacturing time instead of the equipment costs shown in FIG. For example, labor costs may include the cost of operating one piece of equipment per unit of time. The manufacturing time is the cost required to operate a unit of equipment to produce one product. In this case, the design department 1 3 includes variables that represent at least one of equipment costs, labor costs, and manufacturing time in the manufacturing information. The number of pieces of equipment to be allocated to the production line is determined so as to minimize the objective function including In a variant, the manufacturing costs of the product are reduced due to the reduced manufacturing time: The objective function includes variables related to the manufacturing costs of the product. According to this modification, a process organization that suppresses manufacturing costs is created. When changing the equipment allocated to the production line in response to fluctuations in the number of units manufactured, This can effectively reduce the processing costs in the manufacturing costs.

[0086] In the manufacturing line design system 300 according to the above embodiment, the equipment 201 includes a drive control unit 221 and a moving unit 211, which automatically moves to a position where it is arranged on the production line. The equipment 201 does not have a drive control unit 221 and a moving unit 211. , may be placed on the production line by a worker or the like.

[0087] In the above embodiment, the production is carried out under the condition that one piece of equipment is used to carry out one process. The number of machines allocated to the manufacturing line has been optimized, but the number of machines used to carry out one process has been reduced. There may be more than one piece of equipment. For example, two or more types of equipment may be used to carry out one process. The equipment may be used in combination with one type of equipment to carry out one process. Two types of equipment may be used.

[0088] [Variation 2] 28 is a flowchart of a modified manufacturing line design method. In the manufacturing line design flow, first, the information acquisition unit 11 acquires the process load information included in the process load information. and an information acquisition process for acquiring the equipment capacity included in the process capacity information and the number of manufactured units of each product. The classification unit 12 classifies the process load, the facility capacity, the number of manufactured units of each product, and All products are classified into multiple clusters by clustering using at least one of the following: The design unit 13 duplicates all the products according to the classification result of the classification unit 12 (step S12). Each cluster is assigned to one of the multiple production lines corresponding to the number of clusters (Step S 13). The design department 13 uses the manufacturing information for each manufacturing line after product allocation. The number of pieces of equipment allocated to the production line is optimized (step S14), and the production of the modified example is performed. The manufacturing line design flow is completed. The optimization of the number of pieces of equipment performed by the design unit 13 is carried out in the same manner as in the above embodiment. The objective function KPI may be used, or other objective functions or other known methods may be used. That's fine.

[0089] [Variation 3] In the second embodiment, the classification unit 12 classifies the data into both cluster 6 and cluster 7. Products 6, 7, and 10 that were not included were divided into five groups so that they could be classified into cluster 6 or cluster 7. The classification patterns 1 to 5 have been created, but the classification of products 6, 7, and 10 can be modified. For example, instead of narrowing down the 8 patterns to 5, The number of pieces of equipment allocated to the manufacturing lines for all the products may be optimized. A new production line is created to manufacture items 6, 7, and 10, and the number of machines is then optimized. Alternatively, only the product 6 may be distributed to an independent production line. Products 6, 7, and 10 may or may not be classified into any cluster. .

[0090] In the second embodiment, before the clustering by the classification unit 12, the classification units shown in FIGS. The allocation of facilities and distribution of products was carried out in such a way that In step S2 of 6, after clustering, product allocation may be performed. In the second embodiment, even if the number of owned equipment is used as a constraint for product allocation, good.

[0091] In the second embodiment, when the number of pieces of equipment is optimized, the following equation (1) is satisfied: Although the constraint on manufacturing time is imposed, manufacturing time does not have to be imposed as a constraint. For example, the constraint on the manufacturing time can be relaxed by multiplying the constraint on the manufacturing time by a predetermined coefficient. The process may be organized from more allocation patterns. For example, the example shown in FIG. The upper limit of production time per day, 16 hours, is multiplied by a coefficient of 1.1 to get 17 hours. A new constraint to be met may be 17.6 hours. In this case, the maximum production time is 17. Allocation pattern 3, which is 5 hours, may be considered as a candidate for process organization.

[0092] The first embodiment (step S6 in FIG. 6) and the second embodiment (step S1 in FIG. 19) 6) The process of leveling the cycle time is not necessary and does not have to be carried out. By performing cycle time leveling, the time required for subsequent optimization of the number of equipment units is reduced. This reduces the time required to create a process organization.

[0093] The present embodiment has been described above based on the embodiments and modifications. The form of is intended to facilitate understanding of this embodiment and is not intended to limit this embodiment. This embodiment may be modified or improved without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims. In addition, the present embodiment includes equivalents thereof. If it is not explained as such, it may be deleted as appropriate.

[0094] The present invention can also be realized in the following forms. [Application example 1] A manufacturing line design device that designs multiple manufacturing lines for manufacturing multiple types of products. So, Manufacturing information comprising at least: The number of units of each type of product manufactured; For the multiple processes required to manufacture the product, the load at each of the processes is expressed. The process load and The number of one or more types of equipment used to perform each of the steps; and an equipment capacity representing the processing capacity of each of the facilities. Department and At least one of the number of manufactured units of each type of product, the process load, and each facility capacity is determined. a classification unit that classifies the products into a plurality of clusters by clustering using the classification unit; a design unit that designs the production line using the classification result by the classification unit; Equipped with The design unit Depending on the classification results, all of the products are sent to one of a plurality of production lines, Distributing, After the products are allocated, for each of the production lines, the production information is used to A manufacturing line design device that optimizes the number of pieces of equipment allocated to a manufacturing line. [Application example 2] The manufacturing line design device according to Application Example 1, The classification unit classifies all of the products into the plurality of clusters by the clustering. death, The design unit classifies all of the products into clusters according to the classification results. A manufacturing line design device that allocates each part to one of multiple manufacturing lines. [Application example 3] The manufacturing line design device according to Application Example 1 or Application Example 2, The classification unit is configured to creating a plurality of patterns in which the products are classified into any one of the clusters; The design unit All the products are processed in accordance with the plurality of patterns. A production line design device that allocates each part to one of the production lines. [Application example 4] The manufacturing line design device according to any one of Application Examples 1 to 3, the manufacturing information includes the number of the equipment held for each type of the equipment, The design unit The number of the facilities held is a constraint, and the number of the facilities for carrying out each process of one of the manufacturing lines is Allocate facilities, Each time the equipment is allocated, the products that can be manufactured on that production line are allocated. , When at least one of the products is allocated to the manufacturing line, the processing is continued to the next By shifting the production line to the equipment allocation and product distribution, The manufacturing line design device calculates the minimum number of manufacturing lines required. [Application example 5] The manufacturing line design device according to any one of Application Examples 1 to 4, The manufacturing information further includes equipment costs required to carry out each of the processes, and Labor costs, which are the costs required to carry out the above steps, and the time required to manufacture each of the above products. including at least one of the manufacturing time and The design department determines the minimum of the equipment cost, the labor cost, and the manufacturing time in the manufacturing information. The objective function is to minimize a variable that represents at least one of the By determining the number of the equipment that can be used, the number of the equipment is optimized. Design equipment. [Application Example 6] The manufacturing line design device according to any one of Application Examples 1 to 5, The design unit minimizes the objective function and determines the product to be manufactured in each of the production lines. By ensuring that the total manufacturing time of the product does not exceed a preset upper limit time, A manufacturing line design device that optimizes the number of equipment. [Application Example 7] The manufacturing line design device according to any one of Suggestion Example 1 to Application Example 6, The design unit The equipment for each type used in all of the manufacturing lines after the products are allocated If the total number of units is less than the number of units held, each of the above manufacturers will be classified according to the classification results. Optimize the number of pieces of equipment assigned to the line, The equipment for each type used in all of the manufacturing lines after the products are allocated Of the total number of units, the total number of units of at least one type of said equipment exceeds the number of units owned. In this case, the classification unit performs a reclassification of all the products after changing the clustering conditions. A manufacturing line design device that executes the same. [Application Example 8] The manufacturing line design device according to any one of Application Examples 1 to 7, The design unit The equipment for each type used in all of the manufacturing lines after the products are allocated If the total number of units is less than or equal to the number of units held, the number of units held of the type that has a surplus shall be Extracting the manufacturing line to which the equipment is assigned; For the extracted manufacturing lines, add the equipment to the extent that there is a surplus in the number of units owned. A manufacturing line design device that optimizes the number of pieces of equipment by allocating them in an additional capacity. [Application Example 9] The manufacturing line design device according to any one of Application Examples 1 to 8, The design unit By additionally allocating the equipment to the extracted manufacturing line, The longest cycle time among the cycle times of the plurality of processes performed in the process is and leveling the cycle times of the plurality of processes. For the manufacturing line in which the cycle time has been leveled, the number of units allocated after leveling is The number of the equipments is used to include a variable representing at least one of the items included in the manufacturing information. The number of the equipment to be allocated is determined so as to minimize the objective function. A manufacturing line design device that optimizes the number of pieces of equipment. [Application Example 10] A manufacturing line design system, The manufacturing line design device according to any one of Application Examples 1 to 9, The equipment has a drive unit for movement; Equipped with The design department further designates the equipment in accordance with the manufacturing line to which the equipment is assigned. and generating location information for identifying the location where the equipment is to be installed, and transmitting the location information to the equipment. Believe, The driving unit of the equipment moves the equipment to the position indicated by the received position information. ,Manufacturing line design system. [Application Example 11] A manufacturing line design method for designing multiple manufacturing lines for manufacturing multiple types of products. But the computer, Manufacturing information comprising at least: The number of units of each type of product manufactured; For the multiple processes required to manufacture the product, the load at each of the processes is expressed. The process load and The number of one or more types of equipment used to perform each of the steps; and an equipment capacity representing the processing capacity of each of the facilities. The process and At least one of the number of manufactured units of each type of product, the process load, and each facility capacity is determined. a classification step of classifying the products into a plurality of clusters by clustering using the product classification data; a design step of designing the production line using the classification result obtained by the classification step; Equipped with The design process includes: Depending on the classification results, all of the products are sent to one of a plurality of production lines, Distributing, After the products are allocated, for each of the production lines, the production information is used to and optimizing the number of pieces of equipment allocated to a manufacturing line. [Application Example 12] A computer program for designing multiple manufacturing lines for producing multiple types of products And, Manufacturing information comprising at least: The number of units of each type of product manufactured; For the multiple processes required to manufacture the product, the load at each of the processes is expressed. The process load and The number of one or more types of equipment used to perform each of the steps; and an equipment capacity representing the processing capacity of each of the facilities. Function and At least one of the number of manufactured units of each type of product, the process load, and each facility capacity is determined. a classification function for classifying the products into a plurality of clusters by clustering using the classification function; a design function for designing the production line using a classification result by the classification function; This is realized by a computer, The design function is Depending on the classification results, all of the products are sent to one of a plurality of production lines, Distributing, After the products are allocated, for each of the production lines, the production information is used to A computer program for optimizing the number of pieces of equipment allocated to a manufacturing line. . [Explanation of symbols]

[0095] 10...CPU 11…Information acquisition department 12...Classification section 13…Design Department 20…Storage device 21…Process load information DB 22…Process capability information DB 30...Input section 40...Output section 50…Communications Department 100...Line design device (production line design device) 201~20x…Equipment 211...Moving unit (drive unit) 221...Drive control unit (drive unit) 300...Manufacturing line design system KPI...objective function

Claims

1. A manufacturing line design device that designs multiple manufacturing lines for manufacturing multiple types of products. So, Manufacturing information comprising at least: The number of units of each type of product manufactured; For the multiple processes required to manufacture the product, the load at each of the processes is expressed. The process load and The number of one or more types of equipment used to perform each of the steps; and an equipment capacity representing the processing capacity of each of the facilities. Department and At least one of the number of manufactured units of the product for each type, the process load, and each facility capacity is determined. a classification unit that classifies the products into a plurality of clusters by clustering using the classification unit; a design unit that designs the production line using the classification result by the classification unit; Equipped with The design unit Depending on the classification results, all of the products are sent to one of a plurality of production lines, Distributing, After the products are allocated, for each of the production lines, the production information is used to A manufacturing line design device that optimizes the number of pieces of equipment allocated to a manufacturing line.

2. 2. The manufacturing line design device according to claim 1, The classification unit classifies all of the products into the plurality of clusters by the clustering. death, The design unit classifies all of the products into clusters according to the classification results. A manufacturing line design device that allocates each part to one of multiple manufacturing lines.

3. 2. The manufacturing line design device according to claim 1, The classification unit is configured to creating a plurality of patterns in which the products are classified into any one of the clusters; The design unit All the products are processed in accordance with the plurality of patterns. A production line design device that allocates each part to one of the production lines.

4. 4. The manufacturing line design device according to claim 3, the manufacturing information includes the number of the equipment held for each type of the equipment, The design unit The number of the facilities held is a constraint, and the number of the facilities for carrying out each process of one of the manufacturing lines is Allocate facilities, Each time the equipment is allocated, the products that can be manufactured on that production line are allocated. 、 When at least one of the products is allocated to the production line, the processing is performed on the next By shifting the production line to the equipment allocation and product distribution, The manufacturing line design device calculates the minimum number of manufacturing lines required.

5. 5. The manufacturing line design device according to claim 2, The manufacturing information further includes equipment costs required to carry out each of the processes, and Labor costs, which are the costs required to carry out the above steps, and the time required to manufacture each of the above products. and at least one of a manufacturing time, The design department determines the minimum of the equipment cost, the labor cost, and the manufacturing time in the manufacturing information. The objective function is to minimize an objective function including variables representing at least one of the By determining the number of the equipment that can be used, the number of the equipment is optimized. Design equipment.

6. 6. The manufacturing line design device according to claim 5, The design unit minimizes the objective function and determines the product to be manufactured in each of the production lines. By ensuring that the total manufacturing time of the product does not exceed a preset upper limit time, A manufacturing line design device that optimizes the number of equipment.

7. 5. The manufacturing line design device according to claim 2, The design unit The equipment for each type used in all of the manufacturing lines after the products are allocated If the total number of units is less than the number of units held, each of the above manufacturers will be classified according to the classification results. Optimize the number of pieces of equipment assigned to the line, The equipment for each type used in all of the manufacturing lines after the products are allocated Of the total number of units, the total number of units of at least one type of equipment exceeds the number of units owned. In this case, the classification unit performs a reclassification of all the products after changing the clustering conditions. A manufacturing line design device that executes the same.

8. 8. The manufacturing line design device according to claim 7, The design unit The equipment for each type used in all of the manufacturing lines after the products are allocated If the total number of units is less than or equal to the number of units held, the number of units held of the type that has a surplus shall be Extracting the manufacturing line to which the equipment is assigned; For the extracted manufacturing lines, add the equipment to the extent that there is a surplus in the number of units owned. A manufacturing line design device that optimizes the number of pieces of equipment by allocating them in an additional capacity.

9. 9. The manufacturing line design device according to claim 8, The design unit By additionally allocating the equipment to the extracted manufacturing line, The longest cycle time among the cycle times of the plurality of processes performed in the process is and leveling the cycle times of the plurality of processes. For the manufacturing line in which the cycle time has been leveled, the number of units allocated after leveling is The number of the equipments is used to include a variable representing at least one of the items included in the manufacturing information. The number of the equipment to be allocated is determined so as to minimize the objective function. A manufacturing line design device that optimizes the number of pieces of equipment.

10. A manufacturing line design system, The manufacturing line design device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, The equipment has a drive unit for movement; Equipped with The design department further designates the equipment in accordance with the manufacturing line to which the equipment is assigned. and generating location information for identifying the location where the equipment is to be installed, and transmitting the location information to the equipment. Believe, The driving unit of the equipment moves the equipment to the position indicated by the received position information. ,Manufacturing line design system.

11. A manufacturing line design method for designing multiple manufacturing lines for manufacturing multiple types of products. But the computer, Manufacturing information comprising at least: The number of units of each type of product manufactured; For the multiple processes required to manufacture the product, the load at each of the processes is expressed. The process load and The number of one or more types of equipment used to perform each of the steps; and an equipment capacity representing the processing capacity of each of the facilities. The process and At least one of the number of manufactured units of the product for each type, the process load, and each facility capacity is determined. a classification step of classifying the products into a plurality of clusters by clustering using the product classification data; a design step of designing the production line using the classification result obtained by the classification step; Equipped with The design process includes: Depending on the classification results, all of the products are sent to one of a plurality of production lines, Distributing, After the products are allocated, for each of the production lines, the production information is used to and optimizing the number of pieces of equipment allocated to a manufacturing line.

12. A computer program for designing multiple manufacturing lines for producing multiple types of products And, Manufacturing information comprising at least: The number of units of each type of product manufactured; For the multiple processes required to manufacture the product, the load at each of the processes is expressed. The process load and The number of one or more types of equipment used to perform each of the steps; and an equipment capacity representing the processing capacity of each of the facilities. Function and At least one of the number of manufactured units of the product for each type, the process load, and each facility capacity is determined. a classification function for classifying the products into a plurality of clusters by clustering using the classification function; a design function for designing the production line using a classification result by the classification function; This is realized by a computer, The design function is Depending on the classification results, all of the products are sent to one of a plurality of production lines, Distributing, After the products are allocated, for each of the production lines, the production information is used to A computer program for optimizing the number of pieces of equipment allocated to a manufacturing line. 。

Images