Design for assembly: Influencing the design process

Abstract

There is extensive evidence to suggest that industrial products are being designed with an excessive number of parts and, invariably, many more costly and complex assembly operations than should be the case. A feed forward or proactive approach to the application of Design for Assembly, aimed at influencing the design process to overcome these problems, is presented. This paper reports on progress towards the development of the Design for Assembly 'Sandpit', where Design for Assembly procedures are integrated with advanced computer-aided design concepts to realize an assembly-oriented design environment. A case study is included to help illustrate the ways in which the approach can be used in industry.