Controlling operation of machine tools using combinatorial optimization problem solvers

A system comprising:

• a collection of machine tool workstations used to process a plurality of parts;
• one or more computers in data communication with the collection of machine tool workstations;
• a computer-readable medium coupled to the one or more computers having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the one or more computers, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:
• grouping the collection of machine tool workstations into multiple functional groups, wherein each functional group includes workstations of the same type;
• for each of the multiple functional groups:
• transmitting, to a combinatorial optimization problem solver, data representing multiple parts to be processed by the type of workstations included in the functional group;
• receiving, from the combinatorial optimization problem solver, data representing a sequence of ordered subsets of the multiple parts that, when processed by the functional group, produces a reduced set up time for the workstations in the functional group;
• computing an average delay time associated with the generated sequence of ordered subsets of the multiple parts;
• determining whether the average delay time is less than a predetermined threshold;
• in response to determining that the average delay time is less than the predetermined threshold, releasing parts according to the generated sequence of ordered subsets of the multiple parts to the functional group for processing.

One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by one or more computers that are in data communication with a collection of machine tools that are used to process a plurality of parts, cause the one or more computers that are in data communication with the collection of machine tools that are used to process the plurality of parts to perform operations comprising:

• grouping, by the one or more computers that are in data communication with a collection of machine tool workstations that are used to process a plurality of parts, the plurality of machine tool workstations into multiple functional groups, wherein each functional group includes machine tool workstations of the same type;
• for each of the multiple functional groups:
• transmitting, by the one or more computers that are in data communication with the collection of the machine tool workstations that are used to process the plurality of parts, and to a combinatorial optimization problem solver, data representing multiple parts to be processed by the type of workstations included in the functional group;
• receiving, by the one or more computers that are in data communication with the collection of the machine tool workstations that are used to process the plurality of parts, and from the combinatorial optimization problem solver, data representing a sequence of ordered subsets of the multiple parts that, when processed by the functional group, produces a reduced set up time for the workstations in the functional group;
• computing, by the one or more computers that are in data communication with the collection of the machine tool workstations that are used to process the plurality of parts, an average delay time associated with the generated sequence of ordered subsets of the multiple parts;
• determining, by the one or more computers that are in data communication with the collection of the machine tool workstations that are used to process the plurality of parts, whether the average delay time is less than a predetermined threshold;
• and in response to determining that the average delay time is less than the predetermined threshold, releasing, by the one or more computers that are in data communication with the collection of the machine tool workstations that are used to process the plurality of parts, parts according to the generated sequence of ordered subsets of the multiple parts to machine tool workstations in the functional group for processing.