Balancing U-shaped assembly lines with collaborative robots: constraint programming approaches and Benders' decomposition algorithms.
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| Title: | Balancing U-shaped assembly lines with collaborative robots: constraint programming approaches and Benders' decomposition algorithms. |
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| Authors: | Zheng, Chenyu1,2 (AUTHOR), Li, Zixiang1,2 (AUTHOR) zixiangliwust@gmail.com, Ponnambalam, S. G.3 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | International Journal of Production Research. Dec2025, Vol. 63 Issue 24, p10468-10489. 22p. |
| Subjects: | Constraint programming, Assembly line methods, Mathematical optimization, Problem solving, Industrial robots, Decomposition method, Mixed integer linear programming |
| Abstract: | Collaborative robots are progressively employed to support human workers in assembly tasks or independently assigned to one station to complete assembly tasks in U-shaped assembly lines. This study develops two exact methods, based on constraint programming (CP) model and Combinatorial Benders' decomposition algorithm (CBDA), to tackle the U-shaped assembly line balancing problem with collaborative robots. The CBDA is based on distinct decomposition strategies that address the master problem and the subproblem, formulated by a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model and a CP model, which is designed to obtain a real objective value and generate cuts that refine the master problem. Additionally, MILP-based and CP-based local search techniques are proposed to improve the algorithm's performance. The computational study demonstrates that both the proposed methods, namely CP and CBDA, outperform the current state-of-the-art methods (the MILP model and simulated annealing algorithm). Furthermore, the CP outperforms the CBDA in terms of the number of optimal solutions, achieving the optimal solutions for 574 out of 1500 test instances, and might be regarded as the new state-of-the-art methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of International Journal of Production Research is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
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| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 189933550 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Balancing U-shaped assembly lines with collaborative robots: constraint programming approaches and Benders' decomposition algorithms. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zheng%2C+Chenyu%22">Zheng, Chenyu</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Li%2C+Zixiang%22">Li, Zixiang</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> zixiangliwust@gmail.com</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ponnambalam%2C+S%2E+G%2E%22">Ponnambalam, S. G.</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22International+Journal+of+Production+Research%22">International Journal of Production Research</searchLink>. Dec2025, Vol. 63 Issue 24, p10468-10489. 22p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Constraint+programming%22">Constraint programming</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Assembly+line+methods%22">Assembly line methods</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mathematical+optimization%22">Mathematical optimization</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Problem+solving%22">Problem solving</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Industrial+robots%22">Industrial robots</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Decomposition+method%22">Decomposition method</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mixed+integer+linear+programming%22">Mixed integer linear programming</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Collaborative robots are progressively employed to support human workers in assembly tasks or independently assigned to one station to complete assembly tasks in U-shaped assembly lines. This study develops two exact methods, based on constraint programming (CP) model and Combinatorial Benders' decomposition algorithm (CBDA), to tackle the U-shaped assembly line balancing problem with collaborative robots. The CBDA is based on distinct decomposition strategies that address the master problem and the subproblem, formulated by a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model and a CP model, which is designed to obtain a real objective value and generate cuts that refine the master problem. Additionally, MILP-based and CP-based local search techniques are proposed to improve the algorithm's performance. The computational study demonstrates that both the proposed methods, namely CP and CBDA, outperform the current state-of-the-art methods (the MILP model and simulated annealing algorithm). Furthermore, the CP outperforms the CBDA in terms of the number of optimal solutions, achieving the optimal solutions for 574 out of 1500 test instances, and might be regarded as the new state-of-the-art methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of International Journal of Production Research is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1080/00207543.2025.2551245 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 22 StartPage: 10468 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Constraint programming Type: general – SubjectFull: Assembly line methods Type: general – SubjectFull: Mathematical optimization Type: general – SubjectFull: Problem solving Type: general – SubjectFull: Industrial robots Type: general – SubjectFull: Decomposition method Type: general – SubjectFull: Mixed integer linear programming Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Balancing U-shaped assembly lines with collaborative robots: constraint programming approaches and Benders' decomposition algorithms. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Zheng, Chenyu – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Li, Zixiang – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Ponnambalam, S. G. IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 15 M: 12 Text: Dec2025 Type: published Y: 2025 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 00207543 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 63 – Type: issue Value: 24 Titles: – TitleFull: International Journal of Production Research Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
