Modelling robotic palletising process with two robots using queuing theory

摘要

Purpose: This paper presents the modeling of a typical high-speed robotic palletizing process involving two robots using queuing theory with the aim of providing design guidelines of such a system for dynamic material flows. Design/methodology/approach: In this study, our calculation is carried out using the queue models and the production parameters as given in Section 2. We select three types of performance indexes, i.e. average length of queue (Lq), utilization of server (US) and mean waiting time (MWT) in the queue to interpret the prediction of performance of the high-speed palletizing systems to handle the prescribed material flow. Findings: The time average properties of the system, such as the average number of cartons in the system, mean waiting time, the congestion probability, utilization of machine have been calculated. The calculation results have shown that the work performance of the system is related to the characteristics of the material flow, and the product design should consider both the time-average parameters and the dynamic features of the material flow. Practical implications: The paper has described a methodology of modeling a high-speed palletizing process with two robotic servers to handle high-speed dynamic materials flow using the queuing theory technique. Originality/value: Based on the established model, a general design scheme can be derived to show how to consider the dynamic properties through the system design while meeting the prescribed utilization and congestion requirements of such a process.