ILBSA: An Improved Load-Balancing Scheduling Algorithm for Multi-Machine Additive Manufacturing of Patient-Specific Medical Devices

This code implements the ILBSA (Improved Load-Balancing Scheduling Algorithm), designed to address the Multi-device Load-Balanced Scheduling Problem (MD-MLBSP) in the additive manufacturing (AM) of patient-specific medical devices. The algorithm integrates a closed-loop scheduling and layout optimization framework that jointly considers task-to-machine assignment and part placement on 3DP platforms. Key components include a tri-layer chromosome encoding scheme, an HPR-based hybrid initialization strategy, a load balancing operator, and the TLAS placement module for collision-free layout optimization. The code supports dual-objective optimization (minimizing makespan and machine load std), and is validated through experiments comparing ILBSA with benchmark algorithms (LBSA, LB-PSO, LB-SA, and LB-ACO). This repository provides complete source code, test datasets, and experiment scripts for reproducibility and further research.