A Differential Evolution Algorithm for Simple Assembly Line Balancing

Author:	Nearchou Andreas C., University of Patras, Greece
Topic:	5.1 Manufacturing Plant Control
Session:	Advanced Manufacturing Applications
Keywords:	assembly line balancing, differential evolution, meta-heuristics, manufacturing optimization

Abstract

This paper describes the application of differential evolution algorithm (DEA) to the simple assembly line balancing problem (SALBP). DEA is an evolutionary algorithm similar to a real-coded genetic algorithm for global optimization over continues spaces. The paper is concerned with SALBP type-1 whose objective is to minimize the number of workstations required to manufacture a product in an assembly line within a given fixed cycle time. Extensive experimental work over public benchmarks test problems show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.