TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED DESIGN FOR AN ASSEMBLY EVALUATION AND REASONING SYSTEM

The paper describes ongoing research on the development of the Integrated Design for Assembly Evaluation and Reasoning System (IDAERS). The system builds on existing solid-modeling packages. The aim is the evaluation of the assemblability of the design, and the recommendation of design modifications that decrease the assembly time and the level of difficulty. The factors affecting assemblability have been identified and categorized on the basis of the models required for the estimation of the parameter value for each factor. Three distinct types of model are identified: component-level, system-level and process-level models. Finally, a semiautomated software tool that aids this evaluation process is presented.