Table Of Content

Industrial Assembly JOIN US ON THE INTERNET VAI WWW, GOPHER, FTP OR EMAIL: WWW: http://www.thomson.com GOPHER: gopher.thomson.com . , FTP: ~ft p\.,t homson.com A service of 1(1 )P EMAIL: [email protected] Industrial Assembly Shimon Y. Nof School of Industrial Engineering Purdue University West Lafayette, IN, USA Wilbert E. Wilhelm Department of Industrial Engineering Texas A&M University College Station, TX, USA and Hans-Jürgen Warnecke Fraunhofer Institute Munich, Germany SPRINGER-SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.V. First edition 1997 © 1997 Shimon Y. Nof, Wilbert E. Wilhelm and Hans-Jürgen Warnecke Originally published by Chapman & Hall in 1997 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1997 Typeset in 10 on 12 pt Times by Best-set Typesetter Ltd., Hong Kong ISBN 978-1-4613-7937-9 ISBN 978-1-4615-6393-8 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4615-6393-8 Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the UK Copyright Designs and Patents Act, 1988, this publication may not be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction only in accordance with the terms of the licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency in the UK, or in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the appropriate Reproduction Rights Organization outside the UK. Enquires concerning reproduction outside the terms stated here should be sent to the publishers at the London address printed on this page. The publisher makes no representation, express or implied, with regard to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and cannot accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may be made. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 96-85302 (bo) Printed on permanent acid-free text paper, manufactured in accordance with ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 and ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1984 (Permanence of Paper). To our families Contents Preface Xl 1 Introductiou and fuudameutal concepts of assembly 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Nature and role of assembly in industry 1 1.3 The economic significance of assembly 10 1.4 Assembly engineering and rationalization 13 1.5 Management issues and assembly organizations 20 1.6 General taxonomy of assembly operations and systems 23 1.7 Assembly information representation 27 1.8 Fundamental models and measures of assembly 30 1.9 Assembly planning issues 38 1.10 Summary 41 1.11 Review questions 41 References 43 2 Assembly tasks and technology 45 2.1 Introduction 45 2.2 Levels of automation and flexibility in assembly 46 2.3 Assembly tasks 56 2.4 Disassembly tasks 62 2.5 Insertion and joining tasks 67 2.6 Summary 80 2.7 Review questions 81 References 82 3 Design for assembly 84 3.1 Introduction 84 3.2 Product design for assembly 86 3.3 Group technology for assembly 99 Vlll Contents 3.4 Procedural systems for as sembI ability evaluation 103 3.5 Design for disassembly and recycling 106 3.6 Computer-aided methods for DFA 110 3.7 Artificial intelligence approaches to DFA 115 3.8 Summary 126 3.9 Review questions 127 References 129 4 Design of assembly systems 135 4.1 Introduction 135 4.2 The planning of an assembly system 135 4.3 Assembly organization 143 4.4 Handling facilities 146 4.5 Machines for assembly automation 158 4.6 Economic justification of assembly systems 181 4.7 Examples of assembly systems 185 4.8 Summary 197 4.9 Review questions 197 References 199 5 Assembly system design and planning 200 5.1 Introduction 200 5.2 Assembly line balancing 201 5.3 Assembly system design 234 5.4 Process planning in assembly 238 5.5 Sequence planning for robotic assembly 245 5.6 Summary 252 5.7 Review questions 253 References 254 6 Performance evaluation of stochastic assembly systems 259 6.1 Introduction 259 6.2 Push systems 260 6.3 Pull systems 287 6.4 Flexible assembly systems 289 6.5 Simulation analysis 296 6.6 Summary 305 6.7 Review questions 306 References 307 7 Sequencing and scheduling of assembly operations 3U 7.1 Introduction 312 7.2 Scheduling in push systems 313 7.3 Level scheduling in just-in-time pull systems 333 7.4 Sequencing in mixed-model assembly lines 340 7.5 Summary 346 Contents IX 7.6 Review questions 347 References 347 8 Time-managed material flow control 350 8.1 Introduction 350 8.2 The kitting process 351 8.3 Recursion models for repetitive assembly 366 8.4 Optimal time management 387 8.5 Summary 399 8.6 Review questions 402 References 403 9 Quality and inspection in assembly 406 9.1 Introduction 406 9.2 Quality issues related to assembly 407 9.3 Inspection and test during assembly 411 9.4 Rework and repair in assembly 423 9.5 Error diagnosis and recovery in assembly 436 9.6 Communication and integration of assembly and inspection 444 9.7 Summary 452 9.8 Review questions 454 References 455 10 Emerging trends in assembly 459 10.1 Introduction 459 10.2 Emerging trends in assembly technology 459 10.3 Emerging trends in the design of products and systems 464 10.4 Assembly utilities 472 10.5 The influence of emerging information technologies 474 10.6 Research issues in assembly 479 10.7 Summary 485 10.8 Review questions 486 References 487 Index 491 Preface Industrial assembly is a rapidly changing field with significant importance in production. The purpose of this book is threefold: 1. to provide a comprehensive coverage of technological, engineering and management aspects of this field; 2. to present multi-disciplinary approaches to rationalization, design, plan ning and control of assembly operations and systems; 3. to explain quantitative models, information technologies and engineer ing techniques that have been practised effectively in industrial assem bly, as well as theoretical foundations and emerging trends that shape its future. The three of us have been attracted to the area of assembly for many years (a total of about a century between us), because of its unique role in industry and its challenging complexity, involving both human and technological con cerns. Our objective in this book has been to compile and organize the vast amount of relevant information and knowledge that has been developed and published in this field, and the worldwide experience of many researchers and workers in projects related to assembly. This book is timely: we believe that assembly has matured and at the same time still holds promise for significant innovations and productivity improvements in service and manufacturing industries. The book is written for senior undergraduate, graduate and continuing education students of engineering and operations management; for managers, engineers and consultants working in industry on acquisition, development, design and implementation of assembly facilities; and for researchers in this rich and interesting field. The organization of the book follows the general life cycle of assembly, from history of assembly in Chapter 1 to its expected future in Chapter 10; from xii Preface fundamentals to design and then to operations. The ten chapters can thus be viewed in three logical parts, as follows: Assembly History Design of Products Planning, Operations and and Fundamentals and Systems Control 1. Introduction and 3. Design for Assembly 7. Sequencing and Fundamental Scheduling of Assembly Concepts of Assembly Operations 2. Assembly Tasks 4. Design of Assembly 8. Time-Managed Material and Technology Systems (Technology) Flow Control 5. Assembly System 9. Quality and Inspection in Design and Planning Assembly 6. Performance 10. Emerging Trends in Evaluation of Assembly Stochastic Assembly Systems Finally, we wish to acknowledge the following people for their help and contributions in preparing this book: Mark Hammond, our publisher, Richard Owen and David Hemsley, our production editors, and Sara Hulse, our proof reader. Dr Michael Boasson, Jasmin Nof, Moriah Nof, Nava Nof, Dr Venkat Raj an, Michael Seidman and Dr James Witzerman (S.Y.N.); Dennis Allen, Michele Bork and Shay Sanders (W.E.W.); Dr Manfred Schweizer and Claus Scholpp (H.J.W.).