A flexible assembly system for electronic and toy assembly

Abstract

Automation is a system approach. Simply buying a robot will not work. When an automated assembly system is being considered, the material handling, assembly equipment, material feeding/orientation and error sensing device should be treated as a whole. Product design is also a key factor to be considered. At the same time, flexibility is essential for assembly operations which require frequent change-over from one product to another to meet the market demand. Additional factors such as investment justification, availability of maintenance technicians, quality of product, availability of required space, management's attitude and labor's view of automation will also have great impact on the results of the automation system. This paper will discuss on the above mentioned subjects and describe a flexible assembly system which will enable us to implement automation gradually. The flexible assembly system will be most suitable for the assembly of radios, tape recorders, electrical appliances, toys. A comparison will be made between the conventional conveyor belt system and the flexible assembly system so that a decision may be easily made when an assembly system is being considered for a particular product.