Constraint‐based spatial representation technique for the container packing problem

Abstract

The spatial representation technique is an efficient method for packing boxes into a container; however, it has a limitation in dealing with constraints. For practical applications, there are however limitations when dealing with constraints. These constraints provide flexibility for the user to decide which boxes should be placed first. After imposing the initial conditions, the optimisation packing algorithm based on the spatial representation technique ensures that the boxes remaining in the item list are packed as efficiently as possible into the container. The packing plan is then generated during the run time to provide visualisation of the result of actual packing sequences. It also simultaneously outputs a graphical file to the Autocad software for printing and detailed study. The program can be implemented under either the DOS platform or the Windows platform on an IBM PC. The performance is evaluated using data from another algorithm. The results confirm that the enhanced algorithm can manage the user‐specified constraints with good volume utilisation.

Citation

Chua, C.K., Narayanan, V. and Loh, J. (1998), "Constraint‐based spatial representation technique for the container packing problem", Integrated Manufacturing Systems, Vol. 9 No. 1, pp. 23-33. https://doi.org/10.1108/09576069810196814