A floating pin form board assembly to aid wire harness assembly includes a first embodiment with a work block and chambers containing floating pegs which may reside in retracted or extended positions based on perforations in a wire routing form sheet which allow or prevent retracted pegs from rising to extended positions. Extended pegs may be locked into their extended positions by means of a slidable latch plate, and stop features in the pegs prevent them from escaping past their extended positions. Alternatively, a floating peg form board assembly includes a perforated sheet and first, second, plates third plates each having apertures spaced apart in congruent arrays and a plurality of floating pegs having stop features, and a slidable latch plate having an array of keyhole slots complementary to apertures in one of the other perforated plates, with the latch plate used for locking the floating pegs into retracted or extended positions.

Embodiments presented herein provide techniques for generating and optimizing a plan in a manufacturing environment. The techniques begins by receiving a plurality of demands for a plan, wherein each demand of the plurality of demands has parameters specifying a set of operations, a due date, user specified business logic and priority. The demands are ranked based on the parameters and the user specified business logic. The plurality of demands is broken into sets of demands based on the a predefined number and the demand rank. The demands in a first set of demands are optimized to generate a strategy for fulfilling the demands in the first set of demands. One or more constraints are applied to the first set of demands to ensure the first set of demands is fulfilled in preference to the remaining sets of demands.

A floating pin form board assembly to aid wire harness assembly includes a first embodiment with a work block and chambers containing floating pegs which may reside in retracted or extended positions based on perforations in a wire routing form sheet which allow or prevent retracted pegs from rising to extended positions. Extended pegs may be locked into their extended positions by means of a slidable latch plate, and stop features in the pegs prevent them from escaping past their extended positions.

Alternatively, a floating peg form board assembly includes a perforated sheet and first, second, plates third plates each having apertures spaced apart in congruent arrays and a plurality of floating pegs having stop features, and a slidable latch plate having an array of keyhole slots complementary to apertures in one of the other perforated plates, with the latch plate used for locking the floating pegs into retracted or extended positions.

A configurable modular work space for a wiring harness assembly system comprises a computerized wire harness system controller and bulk wire supplies associated with a programmable discrete wire inventory retainer. One or more multiple wire pull-through mass terminators and a sequential wire termination apparatus are positioned proximal to a universal wire harness board, with a programmable mass terminator tooling unit cutting wire to length during a mass termination cycle. The multiple wire pull-through mass terminator leads to a first IDT connector nest, and then onto the universal wire harness board. A universal wire harness board comprises a floating pin board assembly positioned to interface with a second IDT connector nest, and the floating pin board assembly comprises a plurality of floating pins arranged in an array, which may be individually locked in extended or retracted positions for receiving wires during assembly of a wire harness according to wire harness specifications.

A configurable modular work space for a wiring harness assembly system comprises a computerized wire harness system controller and bulk wire supplies associated with a programmable discrete wire inventory retainer.

One or more multiple wire pull-through mass terminators and a sequential wire termination apparatus are positioned proximal to a universal wire harness board, with a programmable mass terminator tooling unit cutting wire to length during a mass termination cycle. The multiple wire pull-through mass terminator leads to a first IDT connector nest, and then onto the universal wire harness board.

A universal wire harness board comprises a floating pin board assembly positioned to interface with a second IDT connector nest, and the floating pin board assembly comprises a plurality of floating pins arranged in an array, which may be individually locked in extended or retracted positions for receiving wires during assembly of a wire harness according to wire harness specifications.

Embodiments presented herein provide techniques for generating and optimizing a plan in a manufacturing environment. The techniques begins by receiving a plurality of demands for a plan, wherein each demand of the plurality of demands has parameters specifying a set of operations, a due date, user specified business logic and priority. The demands are ranked based on the parameters and the user specified business logic. The plurality of demands is broken into sets of demands based on the a predefined number and the demand rank. The demands in a first set of demands are optimized to generate a strategy for fulfilling the demands in the first set of demands. One or more constraints are applied to the first set of demands to ensure the first set of demands is fulfilled in preference to the remaining sets of demands.

A computer-based system and method for the customized, on-demand production of minted metal pieces, minted metal assemblies or other decorative item(s) with decorative insert(s) is presented herein. Particularly, the system includes an on-demand management system and data storage device comprising a plurality of selectable metal or insert data and/or selectable housing data for ordering, customizing and the on-demand production of decorative items such as greeting cards.