Determining Flexibility Requirement in Robotic Assembly

Abstract

This paper deals with the problem of determining the flexibility requirements of assembly process equipment other than the robots, which are inherently flexible manipulators. An array of parts lists, structured according to order of assembly of parts, is first constructed: each part requires an assembly operation. Non-assembly operations are then inserted into this array at appropriate points to form a second array of process operations. This second array is then elaborated into a third, larger, array of practical process steps, wherein the action performed, the tools used, the objects processed, and the location of the action, are described in a compact notation. If a tool (gripper, parts feeder, etc) used in an operation either (a) processes more than one kind of part, or (b) processes more than one kind of sub-assembly resulting from earlier operations, then the tool must be flexible for the operation to be flexible. A family of five similar pivot assemblies is used to demonstrate the procedure.