To solve the problem of low loading efficiency caused by the poor matching between packaging boxes and pallets, the work aims to propose a pallet loading optimization method for isomorphic items with open dimensions, which maximizes the pallet area utilization under given pallet specifications and provides a decision-making basis for packaging box dimension design and loading scheme optimization. The 3D pallet stacking problem was transformed into a 2D packing problem. A mixed-integer programming model aiming at maximizing pallet area utilization was constructed, and a four-stage hybrid search algorithm including extended loading points, breadth-first tree search, grid search and stable support was designed for solving the model. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed model and the algorithm, numerical experiments were conducted under two scenarios of fixed dimension and variable dimension respectively. In the fixed packaging box dimension scenario, the average area utilization rates on the two types of pallets were 84.03% and 87.28%, respectively. In the optimization scenario with a ±5% dimension variation, the maximum area utilization rates of the two product models reached 94.85% and 88.41%, respectively, and all schemes satisfied the staggered stacking stability constraint. The proposed method can effectively improve pallet area utilization, realize the collaborative optimization of packaging box dimension and pallet loading scheme, and provide a decision-making basis for packaging box dimension design.
Key words
pallet loading /
packaging box dimension optimization /
hybrid search algorithm /
packing optimization /
two-dimensional bin packing
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