Scheduling wafer slicing by multi-wire saw manufacturing in photovoltaic industry: a case study

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2011

Authors

guimaraes, l (Author) FEUP; santos, r (Author) Other; almada-lobo, b (Author) FEUP

Journal

Title: International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology

Vol. 53

Pages: 1129-1139

ISSN: 0268-3768

Publisher: Springer Nature

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 8 Citations

Scopus - 9 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-002-SXS

DOI: 10.1007/s00170-010-2906-x

Abstract (EN): Wafer slicing in photovoltaic industry is mainly done using multi-wire saw machines. The selection of set of bricks (parallelepiped block of crystalline silicon) to be sawn together poses difficult production scheduling decisions. The objective is to maximize the utilization of the available cutting length to improve the process throughput. We address the problem presenting a mathematical formulation and an algorithm that aims to solve it in very short running times while delivering superior solutions. The algorithm employs a reactive greedy randomized adaptive search procedure with some enhancements. Computational experiments proved its effectiveness and efficiency to solve real-world based problems and randomly generated instances. Implementation of an on-line decision system based on this algorithm can help photovoltaic industry to reduce slicing costs making a contribution for its competitiveness against other sources of energy.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 11