Integration of PCB assembly process planning and scheduling

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to realize the integrated optimization of process planning and scheduling in printed circuit board assembly (PC BA). Design/methodology/approach - Logical and numerical contour matrix is used to describe the constituent of component and machine for different PCBA processes on the basis of polychromatic sets (PS) theory and a PS model of PCBA is built. A hybrid genetic algorithm (GA) is developed to optimize the component allocation, PCB assignment and assembly sequence simultaneously. Findings - Integration of PCBA process planning and scheduling (PCBAPPS) can bridge the gap between design and manufacturing to guarantee the assembly quality and improve the production efficiency. However, PCBAPPS have to search for the optimal result in their own vast solution space. They are complex combinatorial optimization problems. The optimization of PCBAPPS constructs a unified solution space which includes two sub-solution space stated above. In this paper, dynamic optimization of PCBAPPS is implemented and the solution efficiency is improved. Originality/value - PS model holds unified standard form on the basis of logical contour and numerical matrix. It is adopted to describe the static structure and dynamic characteristic of PCBA system and combine with GA to solve the integrated optimization problem of PCBAPPS effectively and dynamically.