Feature-based assembly

Assembly Automation

ISSN: 0144-5154

Article publication date: 1 September 2002

83

Keywords

Citation

Rigelsford, J. (2002), "Feature-based assembly", Assembly Automation, Vol. 22 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/aa.2002.03322cad.010

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2002, MCB UP Limited


Feature-based assembly

Keywords: Assembly, Patents, BAE Systems

Applicant: BAE Systems Plc, University of Warwick, et al., Great BritainPatent number: WO0116658Publication date: 8 March 2001Title: Feature Based Assembly

This patent presents a method for the design and manufacture of an assembly of components. This practical approach to feature-based assembly captures important component relationships within the design and subsequent assembly and can provide extremely beneficial tolerance management in aircraft OEMs and the supply chain.

The method includes the steps of identifying potential key characteristics and carrying out a risk assessment for variation of the potential key characteristics based on four values. These values are the probability of failure or variation; the severity of the variation; the detectability of the variation; and the repairability of the variation. Scores attributed to each value may then be multiplied together to produce the risk assessment.

Once the key characteristics have been selected, process of feature identification and classification may be carried out, followed by establishment of assembly precedence of features for that key characteristic.

Related articles