Within the framework of the industry 4.0, robotics plays a crucial role, leading to a widespread diffusion of Collaborative Robots (Cobots). Cobots can work alongside human operators, focusing on tasks with a high biomechanical risk. However, the design of workstations in which humans and cobots can perform tasks in collaboration poses new challenges. In such a scenario, models for manual and automated assembly line design need to include both humans and cobots able to perform the same task in the same station. In addition, contributions assessing the influence of cobots introduction on the assembly line makespan are missing and expected. To fill this gap, this study proposes a mathematical optimization model to design a single-model assembly line. The evaluation of the minimum achievable makespan is carried out by considering different line configuration scenarios, starting from a fully manual assembly line up to including one cobot per station. The main results show that the use of cobots leads to significant time benefits, at the expense of a weak load balancing among the assembly workstations, paving the way for future studies aiming to explore such clear diverging trends.

Caporale A., Galizia F.G., Calabrese F., Bortolini M., Mora C., Ferrari E. (2023). Optimizing Makespan in Single-Model Assembly Lines with Human-Robot Collaboration. Cham : Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH [10.1007/978-3-031-34821-1_89].

Optimizing Makespan in Single-Model Assembly Lines with Human-Robot Collaboration

Caporale A.
;
Galizia F. G.;Calabrese F.;Bortolini M.;Mora C.;Ferrari E.
2023

Abstract

Within the framework of the industry 4.0, robotics plays a crucial role, leading to a widespread diffusion of Collaborative Robots (Cobots). Cobots can work alongside human operators, focusing on tasks with a high biomechanical risk. However, the design of workstations in which humans and cobots can perform tasks in collaboration poses new challenges. In such a scenario, models for manual and automated assembly line design need to include both humans and cobots able to perform the same task in the same station. In addition, contributions assessing the influence of cobots introduction on the assembly line makespan are missing and expected. To fill this gap, this study proposes a mathematical optimization model to design a single-model assembly line. The evaluation of the minimum achievable makespan is carried out by considering different line configuration scenarios, starting from a fully manual assembly line up to including one cobot per station. The main results show that the use of cobots leads to significant time benefits, at the expense of a weak load balancing among the assembly workstations, paving the way for future studies aiming to explore such clear diverging trends.
2023
Production Processes and Product Evolution in the Age of Disruption - Proceedings of the 9th Changeable, Agile, Reconfigurable and Virtual Production Conference (CARV2023) and the 11th World Mass Customization & Personalization Conference (MCPC2023), Bologna, Italy, June 2023
817
824
Caporale A., Galizia F.G., Calabrese F., Bortolini M., Mora C., Ferrari E. (2023). Optimizing Makespan in Single-Model Assembly Lines with Human-Robot Collaboration. Cham : Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH [10.1007/978-3-031-34821-1_89].
Caporale A.; Galizia F.G.; Calabrese F.; Bortolini M.; Mora C.; Ferrari E.
File in questo prodotto:
Eventuali allegati, non sono esposti

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11585/944640
 Attenzione

Attenzione! I dati visualizzati non sono stati sottoposti a validazione da parte dell'ateneo

Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 0
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact