Development of an affordable and auto-reconfigurable solution for small box assembly*

摘要

The aerospace manufacturing industry has been using dedicated assembly systems with manual processes for decades. Not only is this labour-intensive, it is also extremely wasteful as no reuse is possible at the end of a product life cycle. As automation technologies evolve, a flexible/reconfigurable assembly solution is needed to reduce tooling and manual hours in the process. However, a reconfigurable system is often perceived to be costly compared to a dedicated system. In this paper, an affordable and auto-reconfigurable assembly system is proposed for small box products. The proposed system consists of a jig frame, adjustable interface plates, reconfigurable profile boards and a pick-and-place (PnP) end effector. The jig frame can be robotically configured via a PnP process, in which the profile boards are loaded and unloaded onto the jig frame via the end effector. The process feasibility is proven with business case analyses and lab-based experiments regarding tolerance and process timing requirements. Through the business case analysis, cost-saving benefits can be achieved under realistic production scenarios, including a low-volume case. Process timing and repeatability of the jig configuration were also proven to be within the product and process requirements. The proposed tooling solution with automated robotic reconfiguration can be incorporated as a standard operation in a smart assembly factory.