Monday 22 May 2006

Automatic Assembly (16/16)

The most efficient insertion processes are those from vertically above, in a straight line movement.  Most assembly processes take this form.  If this is not the case with a part then it should be examined to see if the action can be simplified.  Simple insertion processes need low cost workheads.  This is because more complex operations require more degrees of freedom.  Each degree of freedom needs an individual pneumatic, hydraulic, or DC Servo motor and, therefore, the cost increases accordingly.  The cycle time of the operation also increases.

Summary

Increases in productivity can be realized by re-designing an existing product for automatic assembly.  Component re-design is more beneficial than assembly system re-design. All of the design considerations mentioned are related to the three main rules for design for automatic assembly :

1.Use the least number of parts
2.Obtain low feeding and orientation difficulty levels
3.Use simple insertion operations

No comments: