Integrated profile selecting and cutting problem in SMEs environment

Taking into account the profile selecting and cutting problem in customized small and middle size manufactures (SMEs), this paper focuses on a integrate approach in developing optimization model and methodology for wood profile selecting and cutting problem with minimizing the total cost to meet the manufacture´s demands under variable environment. Different from traditional one-dimensional cutting problem, the wood are not regarded as fixed length but varied based upon batch size and can be changed by SMEs according to the customer requirements, market availability and product sequence. In this paper, selecting and cutting problem are considered in one model for the first time and named here as integrated profile selecting and cutting problem (IPSCP). By means of heuristic method and mathematic programming, an interactive rule-based algorithm is addressed to solve IPSCP. A case study with a type of wood profile and vinyl cutting in a manufacturing enterprise is also illustrated to prove the method is a valuable addition to the set of tools for modeling and solving cutting problem in SMEs environment.