3D Container Packing (CromulentBisgetti.ContainerPacking)
Get Started
$ dotnet add package 3DContainerPackingReadme
3D Container Packing in C#
This is a C# library that can be used to find 3D container packing solutions (also known as 3D bin packing). It includes an implementation of the EB-AFIT packing algorithm originally developed as a master's thesis project by Erhan Baltacıoğlu (EB) at the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) in 2001. This algorithm is also described in The Distributor's Three-Dimensional Pallet-Packing Problem: A Human Intelligence-Based Heuristic Approach, by Erhan Baltacıoğlu, James T. Moore, and Raymond R. Hill Jr., published in the International Journal of Operational Research in 2006 (volume 1, issue 3).
The EB-AFIT algorithm supports full item rotation and has excellent runtime performance and container utilization.
Usage
Start by including the ContainerPacking project in your solution.
Create a list of Container objects, which describes the dimensions of the containers:
List<Container> containers = new List<Container>();
containers.Add(new Container(id, length, width, height));
...
Create a list of items to pack:
List<Item> itemsToPack = new List<Item>();
itemsToPack.Add(new Item(id, dim1, dim2, dim3, quantity));
...
Create a list of algorithm IDs corresponding to the algorithms you would like to use. (Currently EB-AFIT is the only algorithm implemented.) Algorithm IDs are listed in the AlgorithmType enum.
List<int> algorithms = new List<int>();
algorithms.Add((int)AlgorithmType.EB_AFIT);
...
Call the Pack method on your container list, item list, and algorithm list:
List<ContainerPackingResult> result = PackingService.Pack(containers, itemsToPack, algorithms);
The list of ContainerPackingResults contains a ContainerPackingResult object for each container. Within each ContainerPackingResult is the container ID and a list of AlgorithmPackingResult objects, one for each algorithm requested. Within each algorithm packing result is the name and ID of the algorithm used, a list of items that were successfully packed, a list of items that could not be packed, and a few other packing metrics. The items in the packed list are in pack order and include x, y, and z coordinates and x, y, and z pack dimensions. This information is useful if you want to attach a visualization tool to display the packed items in their proper pack locations and orientations.
