An evolutionary algorithm for assembly scheduling problems with release times

In recent years, most of products consist of lots of parts in order to satisfy customer demand. Assembly sequence planning becomes more complicated in the product development process than before. A suitable assembly sequence has an effect on the reduction of time and cost in the manufacturing process. This research proposes a new evolutionary algorithm for finding an optimal assembly sequence of products with a large number of parts with deferent release times. The experimental results demonstrate that the new method is superior to the previous method from the viewpoint of the minimization of the make-span.