Actual Problems in Machine Building. Vol. 13. N 3-4. 2026 Innovative Technologies in Mechanical Engineering ____________________________________________________________________ 42 IMPROVING THE EFFICIENCY OF PRODUCT ASSEMBLY BY OPTIMIZING MATERIAL FLOWS AT THE ASSEMBLY WORKPLACE Sedykh M.I., Ph.D. (Engineering), Associate Professor, e-mail: sedykhmi@mail.ru Moscow State University of Technology STANKIN, 3A Vadkovsky per., Moscow, 127055, Russian Federation Abstract The paper presents a study on optimizing the placement of containers with parts at the assembly workplace when the assembler is seated. The evaluation criterion is the minimum total travel distance of all parts within the assembly workplace. At this stage, we consider a simplified model that takes into account the layout of the assembly workplace with the assembler in a seated working position, the placement of containers in an area that is ergonomically convenient for the assembler, the assembly sequence of the product, and the distance from the center of the product assembly location at the assembler's workplace to the centers of the containers where the parts are stored. To solve the problem, a branch-and-bound algorithm with pruning is used. The paper presents the constraints, descriptions, and formulas used in the algorithm, the algorithm itself, and an example for a better understanding of the process. Experiments show the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The branch-and-bound algorithm with pruning makes it possible to obtain an exact solution to the problem of placing a small number of elements in an acceptable time, whereas ant colony optimization and simulated annealing are more efficient to use in high-dimensional problems where it is impossible to find an exact solution in a reasonable time. As a rule, a limited number of containers with parts, tooling, and assembly tools are located at the assembly workplace; therefore, the branch‑and‑bound method is considered preferable in this case. Keywords optimization of material flows at the assembly workplace, rational arrangement of the assembly container, layout of the assembly workplace, assembler productivity
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