Abstract
We propose a computer-aided assembly process planning to facilitate and shorten process-planning operations that are becoming cumbersome due to the diversification of manufacturing. The system has two features, modular design of the assembly process and automated line balancing. In the modular design of the assembly process, various assembly tasks are built with elemental tasks, the minimum unit of assembly process, that have abstract representation to be applicable for any products. Automated line balancing generates a good task assignment for users' requirements by solving constraint satisfaction problem. The experimental result in the assembly process design of a laptop computer shows facilitation of a process definition operation by reuse of modules, and reduced hours in a line balancing operation.
