Question

A curtain manufacturer receives three orders for curtain material with widths and lengths as follows:

Order number: 1 2 3

Width (m) : 2.5 3.8 4.9

Length (number of rolls) : 30 50 10

1 2.5 30 2 3.8 50 3 4.9 10 Rolls of curtain material are produced in two standard widths, 5 and 10 m. These can be cut to the sizes specified by the order. There is no practical length limitation as rolls can be joined together. Determine the production plan that minimizes the curtain material trim loss.

Answer 1

Let x be no of 5 m rolls and y be no of 10 m rolls made

Now trim loss will be 5x + 10y - total width required = 5x + 10y - (2.5+3.8+4.9) = 5x + 10 y -11.2

We need to minimise above such that

trim loss >=0

x,y>=0 and are integers

The problem is put in excel as shown below:

Solver has following entries done:

The excel solution is given below:

As obtained above, we need to manufacture three curtains each having width 5 m. The minimum trim loss will be 3.8