The efficiency of n machines equally spaced round a circular drum which rotates against r fixed robot operatives

Abstract EN

This paper shows how to compute the running efficiency of a set of N identical machines which are repaired by r robot operatives.

The machines are fixed, equally spaced, on a circular drum which rotates at constant speed against r robot operatives which are stationed equally spaced just outside the perimeter of the drum.

The rotation of the drum stops whenever a repair is attempted and it is assumed that the repair time is constant.

Breakdowns of the machines are assumed to occur completely at random in running time.

The actual problem has its origins in the practical context of yarn winding in the textile industry.

The present paper generalizes and extends the now classic one repairman problem first considered by c.

Mack and others in 1957.

The analysis will also be valid for problems that arise in the context of automatic loading and retrieval on carousel conveyor systems.