Planning of tool supply to a group of machines

Flexibility is defined as the ability to respond effectively to changing circumstances. A need for wider product scopes and the trend towards shorter product life cycles are some factors that make flexibility a top priority issue in manufacturing strategy. The requested tools delivery flexibility will imply a faster production response. Planning of tool supply to a group of machines is simplified by the use of computerized monitoring [QM and cost optimization in machining of Al-alloys, Proceedings of the Sixth World Congress on Total Quality, Institute of Directory, New Delhi, 1996; Einsatz der Computersimulation fur die Auslegung und Steuerung von FFS, Proceedings of the DAAAM Symposium, Vienna, Austria, October 1996, pp. 203–204. ISBN 3-901509-02-X]. In this paper, the authors propose a new ordering model for the tools transportation problem based on the depot system. Order scales are used as decision parameters for planing tools consumption. The model has been tested with an example and computational results that verify the effectiveness of the model are shown with the help of the EXCEL program.