Design and optimization of a new industrial assembly line: the Ropera case study

This master’s thesis aims at the design and optimization of an assembly line of a large-scale industrial component, a prototype of the station turnaround known as ROPERA. The work is developed within an industrial engineering framework and focuses on evaluating the feasibility of the proposed design solutions in relation to market demand. The research activity began with an assessment of the product and the tasks required for the assembly operations, followed by an analysis of the production area layout and material flow. Subsequently, assembly line balancing was performed using the CPLEX solver, resulting in an optimal solution. A preliminary layout of the assembly area was then developed using AutoCAD, after which workstation sizing and task allocation among operators were defined according to the identified constraints. The results obtained allow the identification of an optimized preliminary solution for the new type of product, which will be implemented and further evaluated at Leitner in the future. This thesis highlights the value of optimization tools in supporting industrial design during the early stages of industrialization of a new product and its related production system.