By Roland Piquepaille
Some of you probably remember this article from Science about how M&Ms candies are more efficiently packed than spheres. But many more objects, larger than chocolate candies, also need to be optimally packed before being shipped in order to minimize costs. A team of computer scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Algorithms and Scientific Computing (SCAI) has just developed Contpack, a 3D software to solve this problem and to maximize the volume utilization of containers.Here is the introduction.
The Fraunhofer Institute for Algorithms and Scientific Computing (SCAI) has developed three-dimensional packing software for optimising the volume utilisation of containers. The software automatically chooses from a given range of containers and quickly generates highly efficient three-dimensional packings of complex objects.
And before going further, here is a screenshot of the Contpack software, showing a computer-generated packing of loudspeakers into a container (Credit: Fraunhofer SCAI). More examples of packaging optimization can be found on this page.
Now, let's look at some details about this software.
Our Contpack software chooses a proper container size from a given list of sizes and generates a high-density regular layout for this container. This reduces the overall number of containers needed in the supply chain, including stocking, transportation and handling. In the stage of production planning, the automatic packing generation helps estimate the required number of containers. It can also help in recognising the need to develop containers with new dimensions.
In contrast to existing algorithms, which are often limited to the packing of cuboids using bin-packing strategies, our algorithms can handle components of arbitrary shapes. The software can be used at an early stage in component development, because the algorithms can handle CAD data of different quality. The integration of the Contpack program into existing CAD systems allows both the design of new components and the planning of their transportation to be performed in a single step within a uniform environment.
Being based in Munich, Fraunhofer SCAI has close ties with German automakers, including Audi and BMW, which explains why this program is "tailor-made for the needs of the automotive industry." But the team has other projects.
This program can be used in many areas of the manufacturing industry. Fraunhofer SCAI intends to release a standard product for the container-packing problem in the near future. We also plan to extend the functionality of the software and to make it usable in other fields of application.
Please note that this article about Contpack was just one in a series of twenty four published by ERCIM News in a special issue on the theme of Industrial Diagnosis, Planning and Simulation.
Source: Onno Garms, Ralf Heckmann and Stefan Rank, Fraunhofer SCAI, for ERCIM News No. 56, January 2004
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