A MULTIPLE-CHOICE KNAPSACK MODEL FOR TOLERANCE ALLOCATION IN MECHANICAL ASSEMBLIES

A zero-one discrete search is the only method capable of handling tolerance allocation problems in assemblies with alternate manufacturing processes for the components (TAP), when complicating issues such as process tolerance limits are present. A major drawback of this method is that the problem size grows rapidly as the total number of points considered for the process curves increases. This note recognizes the similarity between the TAP and the multiple-choice knapsack problem (MCKP) and indicates how an existing algorithm for the MCKP may be used to rapidly solve the TAP even when it has a large number of zero-one variables.