Emergent Synthetic Approach to the Inventory Sizing Dilemma in a Complex Manufacturing Environment

Based on recently established correlations between emergent synthesis classes, a Class III synthesis problem concerning tool inventory management in a complex make-to-order manufacturing environment is addressed. Such environment is shown to be affected by significant non-random uncertainty involving tool delivery time fluctuations and unpredictable tool demand. The trade-off typical of the inventory sizing dilemma is introduced with reference to reusable tools, such as grinding wheels, and a satisfactory solution is achieved by means of a dynamic purpose assignment approach. This leads to a global behaviour, expressed by a recurrently oscillating pattern, affecting the inventory level trend in the nearby of a peculiar attraction band: the oscillation amplitude mainly depends on the attractor’s bandwidth as well as on the peaks attained by the tool demand rate during the tool management period. The developed approach is a contribution to the implementation of a Multi-Agent Tool Management System (MATMS) for automatic procurement of CBN grinding wheels for turbine blade fabrication in the framework of a multiple-supplier network.