Genetic Algorithm-based Buffer Allocation of a Robot Production Line

A genetic algorithm-based optimization method of a robot production line's buffer allocation problem is proposed. The productivity of a production system is closely related to reliability,productivity and buffer capacity of each process. The total buffer of a robot production line is limited. It should be allocated to each production process. The approximation and decomposition way is used to establish the relationship between availability and buffer allocation of the continuous production line model. A new genetic algorithm is proposed to optimize the buffer allocation subjected to the total buffer number. The half-parent crossover and single-parent mutation are used in the new genetic algorithm. A case study of automatic infusion bag packing and stacking line based on the 2-DOF parallel robot is shown. The application of several production lines shows the effectiveness of the method.