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The objective is to develop a flexible robot assembly system capable of economically switching between a wide range of product assemblies. Towards this goal, this paper introduces grasping as a principle issue in designing for flexibility in a robot system. The task, sensing, and certainty about actions are the primary factors in grasp decisions and not where to grasp the part. Identifying finger features, which satisfy a broad range of tasks reduces the likelihood of re‐tooling, and improves certainty about part location and relative orientation. Aided by the ability to address a broad range of tasks, design rules are established which assimilate grasps to part design.

This paper aims to present a method for predicting dimensional variation in assembly processes of a wingbox structure concentrating on the assembly of skin panels to rib feet.

Finite element modelling and experimental tests are conducted on the rib structure based on the site measurement gathered from the Airbus assembly factory.

The results have shown that the simulated model has the capability of predicting to an acceptable degree of accuracy the overall geometrical variations of the ribs and skin panels, as well as the positional variations of each individual rib foot.

The authors believe that no previous research has offered a similar prediction method for large aerostructures.

This paper seeks to investigate the work of a small company involved in researching techniques and designing equipment for assembly automation.

The development of a fully automated CNC machine for drilling aircraft wing sub‐assemblies is described. The importance of accurate process simulation is discussed, and a research project combining physics‐based gaming hardware with factory simulation software is presented. Its application to the laying‐up of carbon composite materials is explained.

Effective and affordable simulation software is essential to small companies to avoid risk in one‐off projects. AMTRI leverages new developments and puts them together to form powerful new systems. The automation of innovative composite processing is intrinsically connected with the behaviour of the material itself.

The paper points out the importance of automation to the future of European manufacturing, in the light of increasing fuel costs.

This paper aims to highlight the importance of the design for disassembly (DFD) concept and to consider the key DFD principles.

This paper first considers the motivations for applying DFD. It then identifies and discusses the key DFD principles.

This paper shows that legislation and consumer pressure are driving product recycling and that DFD is a critical enabling technology. It shows that a series of simple design rules concerning product architecture, materials and fasteners can be used to implement DFD. It highlights the benefits arising from this strategy which include compliance with legislation and reduced component counts and material inventories.

This paper provides an insight into the motivations behind the use of DFD and describes the techniques used in its implementation.

This paper sets out to present how manufacturing system controllers can be an important part of a total system of real‐time manufacturing metrics data gathering and analysis as well as part of the quality control, product tracking and history documentation procedures.

The paper presents an overview of the GE Fanuc Proficy Production Management Solutions software system and illustrates some of the applications that can be applied in the factory.

Users can achieve significant benefits such as cost reduction, quality improvement, reduced product recalls and more easily meet government regulations by applying manufacturing metrics software to production applications.

Production controllers can be an important part of the process to reduce costs and improve quality as operations metrics move on to the factory floor.

Users now have a new avenue to better capture and analyze production information in real time.

The CIM framework pursues the integration of components in a manufacturing enterprise by means of computer systems. This, however, may be obstructed due to heterogeneity in the field: programmable controllers, robots, sensors and actuators, etc. in communications: different kinds of networks and/or field buses; and in the programming tools for all these devices. Thus a solution is needed to integrate heterogeneous software/hardware components in a well‐defined and flexible fashion. This paper seeks to address these issues.

This paper proposes a metalanguage, called H, and a set of tools that serve for designing, implementing, deploying, and debugging distributed heterogeneous software on the shopfloor. The metalanguange includes fault‐tolerance and real‐time mechanisms, among other features.

The use of a framework that can integrate different software and hardware components enables the engineer to take advantage of the best features of each existing technology. The use of object‐oriented techniques, concurrent and distributed programming, and the isolation of heterogeneous parts, have also important benefits in the reusability and optimality of the solutions.

The use of a metalanguage like H, that separates the parts of the application that depend on particular (heterogeneous) components from the parts that are portable, has, as a main implication, important improvements in the development time, effort, and cost of CIM projects.

H is the first metalanguage coping with heterogeneity through the complete development cycle of software for manufacturing applications. It also provides a formal and well‐defined framework for future extensions.

This paper aims to describe the development and testing of a system for the automated assembly of aircraft fuselage panels.

The system described in this paper uses a low‐cost industrial robot and laser stripe sensor to assemble stringers on to a fuselage panel prior to riveting. The method uses a combination of measurement and best fit placement algorithms to optimally locate parts relative to existing features.

The paper demonstrates that with a combination of metrology and mathematical processing standard industrial robots can be used to assemble aero‐structure subassemblies. The paper also demonstrates that the system can work within the tolerances required within the aerospace industry.

The paper introduces techniques for compensating for the inherent distortion that occurs in airframe components during manufacture. This is an enabling technology that will significantly increase the number of possible applications for industrial robots in the assembly of aero‐structures.

The purpose of this paper is to detail the reasons behind, and the successful process adopted for, the introduction of a six sigma programme within a leading, and award‐winning, UK manufacturing business.

The paper outlines the driving factors behind the adoption of six sigma at Renishaw plc, and details how the training, along with the introduction process, has been focused on helping build firm foundations and overcome internal “scepticism”. The study also reviews successful six sigma projects undertaken within the company that have delivered significant manufacturing and transactional process improvements.

Despite initiative fatigue, ongoing business success and a culture wary of any approach that may hinder the innovation that is driving this success, the six sigma programme at Renishaw, which has been supported by a specialist training organisation, has taken root and is now starting to deliver significant business benefits.

Many companies have various concerns over implementing six sigma, including the belief that the “strict” process requires too much effort and that it can stifle innovative thinking. This case study details how one company's successful six sigma implementation programme is overcoming these and other “internal” hurdles.

Virtual product design has become a key technology in reducing costly design errors that are often difficult to detect manually. In order to evaluate product assembly in a virtual environment, it is important to link a product's design in CAD with the constrained complexity of assembly operations in CAM so that the design can be evaluated and modified in a virtual environment before production begins. The paper aims to focus on this.

The proposed virtual system includes the following components: a product assembly coding model, named Open Structured Assembly Coding System (OSACS), that codes part‐mating operations for assembling any two parts in CAM; a rule‐based code extractor that identifies OSACS codes for assembling product from the part‐mating information encoded in Standard for the Exchange of Product Model Data AP‐203 CAD data; and an assembly‐sequence generator that generates a binary assembly‐tree for the designed product coded with OSACS assembly codes, representing assembly operations in CAM for product assembly.

The proposed system links the design phase in CAD with the manufacturing phase in CAM. Simulation studies were made using CAD Ap‐203 data files from an actual mobile phone housing assembly. A binary assembly‐tree assigned with OSACS assembly codes was generated for assembling the product. The assembling complexity between any two parts was coded with the unique OSACS assembly codes. The final binary assembly tree represents how the product is going to be assembled in CAM with the mating complexity encoded in the assigned OSACS codes.

The advantage of this virtual product assembly system is that a design can be validated first in a virtual environment without building the expensive physical production system. Moreover, additional design iterations can be performed in the same amount of time to improve product quality.

Linking product design in CAD with assembly operations in CAM can help realize significant cost savings by preventing future manufacturing problems. With the proposed virtual system, a company can prevent a potential problematic design from reaching production.

This paper introduces the conceptual design of a virtual system that links product design in CAD with assembly operations in CAM. This system provides a designer with a virtual product assembly process to evaluate a designed product.