摘要
The paper presents a capacity allocation and expansion problem of TFT-LCD manufacturing in the multi-site environment. Due to the following significant trends, the capacity allocation and expansion decision gradually becomes an important strategic issue to which TFT-LCD industry paid attention: (1) the complex product hierarchy and product types caused by a wide range of product applications, such as mobile, monitor, notebook, TV and industrial display; (2) a multi-stage, multi-generation and multi-site production chain generated by coexistence of multiple generations of manufacturing technologies in each manufacturing stage and production site; (3) the rapid growing and changing market demand due to the consumer requirements for the replacement of the traditional Cathode Ray Tube (CRT). In this paper, our research objective is to simultaneously seek an optimal capacity allocation plan and capacity expansion policy. Capacity allocation decides on profitable product mixes and allocated production quantities of each product group at each production site. Capacity expansion concerned with determining the timing, types and sizes of capacity investments, especially in the acquirement of auxiliary tools. This study proposes a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) to formulate the whole model of capacity allocation and expansion which considers many practical characteristics and constraints of TFT-LCD manufacturing such as multi-generation & multi-site structure, multiple capacity types, economic cutting ratio, and high capacity expansion costs. Finally, an industrial case study modified from a Taiwan TFT-LCD manufacturer is illustrated.