Flexible Assembly Systems — Opportunities and Challenge for Economic Production

Abstract

Rising costs of assembly, an increasingly wide range of models and a labour shortage in the foreseeable future both demand and stimulate the implementation of automated flexible assembly systems. Until now, reasons associated with the design of production and assembly equipment and the conventional methods of economic assessment have made it difficult to justify flexible assembly systems in economic terms. This situation will be improved to some extent by the systematic development of enhanced flexible assembly components and systems and the integrated engineering strategies that are combined with and supplied by new simulation tools. In future, the designer will be able to work with new planning systems and to select and use flexible assembly structures with an eye to maximizing automation on a case-to-case basis.