Author : A.V.S.Sreedhar Kumar, V.Veeranna, B.Durgaprasad and B.Dattatraya Sarma

One of the methods to increase competitiveness in manufacturing is by converting existing manufacturing systems in to flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) and by implementing an optimum schedule for its operations.. Scheduling in an FMS environment is more complex and difficult than in a conventional manufacturing environment. To achieve high performance in an FMS, a good scheduling system should make a right decision at a right time according to system conditions. A MATLAB based GUI is designed to provide an automated tool for optimization of scheduling using conventional and evolutionary approaches. The primary objective of this tool is to automate and facilitate scheduling using the best possible approach for a particular job scenario involving multiple machines and jobs. The tool box is implemented using MATLAB version 7.1.The tool enables the user easy access in terms of loading the machine timings and job sequence details. In this work, we have also investigated the suitability of Bacterial Foraging Optimization Algorithm (BFOA) for scheduling in FMS systems. The performance of the system is proposed to be validated against other evolutionary strategies like Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Differential Evolution (DE).Most of the optimization functions proposed in the literature have penalties incorporated in them when the scheduled job is not completed in the specified time. We propose to incorporate a reward for each job if the job is completed in time or ahead of its due date. Such an approach is expected to increase the efficiency in regard to the total machining time.

Keywords: Flexible manufacturing system, Scheduling, MATLAB GUI Tool, Genetic Algorithm, Differential Evolution, Bacterial Foraging Optimization Algorithm

Article published in International Journal of Current  Engineering  and Technology, Vol.3,No.5(Dec- 2013)