THIS PAPER PRESENTS A SYSTEMATIC METHOD, BASED ON A PRODUCT-ORIENTED APPROACH, FOR THE DESIGN OF ANY FLEXIBLE ASSEMBLY SYSTEM. THE ASSEMBLY PROCESS IS FIRST DESCRIBED AS A STRUCTURED SET OF OPERATIONS TO BE CARRIED ON THE PRODUCT PARTS AND THEN AS A SET OF EQUIPMENT PERFORMING THESE OPERATIONS. THE RESULTING METHOD DIVIDES THE PROCESS DESIGN IN TWO MAIN STAGES, EACH OF THEM BEING SUPPORTED BY AN INTERACTIVE PROGRAM: THE FIRST ONE DETERMINES THE ASSEMBLY PLANTS, AND THE SECOND ONE DEFINES THE STRUCTURE OF THE ASSEMBLY SYSTEM PROGRESSIVELY AND TRANSFORMS IT INTO A PETRI NET FOR ITS SIMULATION. THE RESULTING CONCURRENT STRUCTURES MAY BE NUMERICALLY COMPARED FROM THEIR EQUIPMENT COSTS AND THEIR TEMPORAL PERFORMANCES.
| Number of Pages : | 10 |
| Published : | 06/01/1990 |
