A line balancing heuristic case study for existing automated surface mount assembly line setups

Abstract The industry of manufacturing printed circuit boards (PCB) is experiencing rapid technological change that has increased the logistical complexity of process planning. In particular, the task of allocating components to machines in order to balance the assembly line has become nearly impossible for the individual process planner to perform manually. As a result, the placement times for machines on automated PCB assembly lines are often unbalanced. This paper presents an overview of a heuristic based decision tool used by the process planner that will balance the line, while making tradeoffs between the savings incurred from a better balanced line and the associated relocation costs. The input required by this heuristic is a current feasible product group setup and an accurate characterization of each of the assembly machines. A relational database application and spreadsheet were designed and are used to execute each heuristic iteration. An accompanying industrial case study and results are provided.