A method for the best geometric placement of units on a plane

A detailed discussion of a method for the placement of items on a plane is contained in this paper based on a criterion of connectedness. This encompasses such things as location of components on a chassis or pointed circuit card, the layout of units in construction of a chemical plant or any other problems where the interrelationships of items is of great concern. The basic effect that this method depends on is the tendency of related components to cluster together. An example of 52 components to be placed on a chassis where connectedness is indicated by wiring interconnections is worked out in detail by the explained procedure. The result obtained by the given procedure yields a better than eleven percent reduction in total wire length over that obtained by an experienced mechanical designer by hand. The example taken was a drawer in a piece of ground support equipment used by Douglas.