Knowledge-Based Approach to Assembly Sequence Planning

Assembly sequence planning plays a major role in the manufacturing industry. There are still many challenges in the area of assembly planning. One of the significant reasons is the weakness in effective description of assembly knowledge and information. With the purpose of reducing computational complexity, this paper presents a method based on engineering knowledge approach to the assembly sequence planning. The DACG (Directed Assembly Connection Graph) proposed provides an appropriate way to express both geometric information and non-geometric knowledge. In order to increase the assembly planning efficiency, the DACG includes engineering knowledge and semantic in design, manufacturing and assembly fields. Product semantic information model could offer much useful information for designer to finish the assembly (process) design and make right decision in that process. A product assembly planning example is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. Preliminary experience with the approach indicates the potential to reduce lead times and thereby can help in completing new product launch projects on time.