OPTIMIZATION OF MULTIPLE PANEL FITTING IN AUTOMOBILE ASSEMBLY D. Knorzad, J. Shi, S.J. Hu, J. Ni Department of Mechanical Engineering ‘The University of Michigan ‘Ann Arbor, Michigan E. Zussman, G. Seliger Department of Assembly Technology “Technical University of Berin-WE Bertin, Germany ABSTRACT ‘Asystemalic approch is prescated to obi improved panel ft quality through the use ofan optimum pane fing strategy. The objective of the optimal pane! Sting strategy isto determine the location of the panels on the automobile body such thatthe ap and fhsh variation ofthe panel tae minimized, This approach ‘ses measurement data from both the panels and the bedy-in- ‘white (BIW) to determine the optimum position of mukiple panels im an automobile Body opening. Fist, some indices are efned to quantify the quality of «panel ft Second, the sources of variation inthe pp nd tah are preseted, Thea te mule panel fing problem is formlsted into contained cptimization model, The eects ofthe optimization process for tiple panels are then demonstrated and validated through the se of computer simulation The computer simula demonstrates the optimization model and algorithm by reducing the within-car gop and Dush variation average by 24.3% and by as mach at 45.4% inthe cae study presented. INTRODUCTION In today's highly competitive automobile market the quality of the product is becoming increasingly important. Among the ‘quality concems of the automobile manufacturers i the quality of the fit and finish. Specifically, the quality ofthe panel fits ofthe automobile ranks high in concern due tothe high warranty cost. ‘An inadequate panel fit will contribute not only to fimctioaal problems such as water leakage aod wind noise but secthetic problems such as meven gap and fush. ‘The indices that ae ueed to determine the quality ofthe panel St are the gap and Ouch variation, gap range and fush range. These ‘terms will all be defined more rigorously later in the paper. The dimensional variations ofthe gap und flush between the BIW and the panel, or between panels, aise ffom four sources which are ‘Transactions of NAMRUSME, 241 gue 1; (1) dimensiousl vasistion of the panels; (2) dimensional variation of the BIW; (3) variation of the panel Sitting process; and (4) effects of painting and general assembly Each branch of the fishbone diagram shown bellow bas various sources of variation which effect the gap and fush variation. inlure Repestobity Surface Contour Doge Door Fil Progess De Opering,-*™ Other Processes rap Ate ié General Assembly FIGURE 1: FISH BONE CHART OF VARIATION ‘COMPONENTS IN PANEL FITTING ‘he fest two vacations ae subassembly vavstions sod ned to ‘be improved atthe subsssembly level. These ius have been ‘sddressd by Wu and Fu (1990), The fourth source of variation iss topic of esearch ouside the range of this paper. This paper focuses onthe variation induced bythe pane! fiting process. In ‘his paper, a special example of panel fiting, automebile doors, is ‘wed to demonstrate the optimization process ‘The control of dimensional devistion i the stomobile dustry has been msinly done by feeding Statistical Process Control (PC) date back to manuactring proceses suchas samping or par subassembly, Wa and Hu (1990), Fiting of rgd bodies in sacral was suggested by Beans and Meng (1984) which presents + grcral constrined optimization process of single ody. An approach to integrate the data dizety to the Sting Volume XXIII, 1995process was proposed by Wu, Hu, and Wu (1954) where the bes fiting parameters are transformed 10 » door fixture location, However, Wu etal, (1994) described the best fiting process in ‘which only one door wat ft at a time, Recently, Schule, Zussman, and Seliger (1994) and Sakai and Yarumatsy (1993) presented determine the position of location criterion, However, litle literature exists in the area of sultple body iting optimization. In recent years, the implementation of the in-line Optical ‘Coordinate Measurement Machine (OCMM) in the automotive industry and the increasing accuracy of industrial robots provide ew opportunities for the development of « flexible assembly systems for the fiting of automobile panels, This flexible sssembly system atlenpte to find the optimum position of the doors inthe BIW such that the within-car gap and flush variation is minimized. In this approach, multiple doors are to be ft simultaneously 40 thet the dimensional devistion in the various parts can be distributed evenly over the entire door fit of the automobile by the optimization process, However, efictive implementation of this multiple pane! ft optimization remains a challenge. Some of these challenges can be summarized as follows: 1. Transformation ofthe discrete OCMM measurement data to a ‘geometric model of the pane fi. Formulation ofan optimizarion objective funtion to minimize the within-car gap and flush variation. Formdation of constraints to restrict the optimization problem. In this paper, «systematic approuch to obtain optimum multiple ‘panel fitting is preseated based on 2 constrained optimization problem, The approach is demonstrated by locsting the font and rear doors of en automobile timuianeouely. Constraints that are taken into account are Enler parameter constraints, minimum gxp constrsints and minimum parallelism constaints. The ‘organization of the paper is as follows: Section 2 describes the ‘rometric model of muhiple panel fitting. Section 3 presents the constrained multiple panel optimization scheme Section 4 ‘verifies the proposed method through computer simulations. In section 5, sensitivity analysis was performed on the optimization constraints. The conclusions of the paper are discussed in the section. 2) 3. GEOMETRIC MODEL The objective of the optimization model is to minimize the variation in the gap and Duc Essentially the pp and Dash are projections ofthe vector, 7, from the Door tothe BIW st the measurement points. The projection ofthis vector, 7, oato the vectors GP; and FP; at the specific poist will result ia the tmearure of the gp and fluc repectively. The vectors GP; and FP; are mit vectors which define the direction ofthe pp and ‘fash at + specified point i (igure 2). The diction of these vectors is govered by the design of the gap and fh Essetily, the pp veto, GP, i the unt vector tangent to the design direction ofthe vector 7, Similarly, the Buh vector, FP, Transactions of NAMRUSME 242 is the nit vector perpendicular to the design detion of the vector 7, An llustation of the ap and Ssh measures i showa infgue? i | actual Door Surface pone “I FIGURE 2; ILLUSTRATION OF GAP AND FLUSH Body Surtoce ‘As mentioned, + panel is defined as any sheet metal part attached (0 the BIW. The doors, hood, fender, and butch are examples of panels, Definitions of other terms used throughout this paper are: B= the coordinates ofthe th point on the body [Dl =the coordinates of the jt point onthe freat door Bd = the coordinates ofthe th pont onthe rear door ‘TIQK) = Front door homogeneous transformation matrix (4x4). ‘T2QK))= Rear door homogencous transformation matix (4x4) ies Poe rouse Oy * Coordinate Rotational Maroc ard see om tee Quam Mente S+4-k 9-48 eemae ten ard-X! ‘wher, ate euler parameters Poxt= Coordinate translation matrix=[R, R, Ry] Whee RyRy tm ton a he) 2 coordinates. Tau, rE K amma sete Bi/?. enemy aed“ K onoan Bl? sama ota ate-K Rel? ° ° oo 4 Xp th optinization variable, {1 1-7 forthe fot dor; i~8-14 forthe rear door To(K)= 244 OPTIMIZATION MODEL, ‘bijective Function; Figure 3 shows some posible measurement locations for the sutomobile door fit, The measurement points can be clastifed into three clases. The fist class of points (Class 1) are points whose gap md Ouch values are determined by the relative location of the from door ond the BIW (points 1 8). The cond class of points (Clase 1) are points whose gap and values are ‘Volume XXII, 1995Aetermined by the relative location ofthe rear door and the BIW (points 9- 16), The third class of points (Class I) are points ‘hots gap and fish are determined by the relative location of the vert and the rear door (pots \7 snd 18). na mil me, Un ae FIGURE 3: LOCATION OF MEASUREMENT POINTS. ‘The vectors fom the menrrement poiat oo the BIW to the corresponding messurement pinto the dao ae: 3,= 7x}, a oy ae 1B, T(x,)eDa, nlx,}eo1,~Tax)03, where, j= the measurement poot number i 123,14 (he variables tobe optimized) Equations (e-e) ate the vectors between th door end the body seach measurement pia fc: the door has ben placed inte the door opening, The form of equation 1 depends on the (pe of Print that is of interest. For example, ifthe pat of teres isa Clas pint (1-4), the proper eqution would be eqution 1a. On the other band, if the pont of interes is» Cat I point (914916) the proper equation would be equation Ib. Silly, ifthe poiat of interest is «Class I pot (pt # 17 & 11), the Proper equation is equation Le To get struc representation of the ror i the ft, we need to ojet these vectors cto the vectors which define the xp and huh (figure 2). The vector that dens the direction of ap at Print i is called GP; Similarly, the vector thet defines the direction ofthe shat peat iis called FP, Therefore, the gap can be defined by the length of his projected vector Symbolic his writen forthe gpa ‘ra(2;—n1x)}04,07,) (0;~Tlx,}02, 0%) 1i(n(x,)01,-12(x,}02, 0%) Similarly, forthe ah a: ra(3,—1(4 +01, ) *r9(8,~T2(x,)+D2,,F7)) @) oi( x}, -12(x, Da, 9) ry Where, “pro(ABY" is «function which calculates the length of Projection the vector A oat B. The pp and fash values that are calculated by using equations 2and3 yield the absolute pap and Huh values These vales of 1p and Dish ae the function of the optimization viable %)), @ a ay cD) ‘Transactions of NAMRIU/SME 243 that sto determine the poston ofthe doors inthe BIW. To pt the dviton from the design vale a each measurement point these values of pap and fu canbe subtracted fom the design (0G) and fhsh (DF;). If the deviation ofthe gap and fush from nominal are squared and summed forall the measurement Pint the optimization tndel objective intone ot €)-T10K) * 94.08 BG 8 = TLR) DH FRI OR al c= T2 1x) *02,.08,)-Da,Ps}, Hae nd (87204) 03 -F,- OF |W x (proj (71 (X,) * Dy ~ THK) * D2. GR)~ ral Fem es cK) * DK TK) * DAH) BA where, I= [to No, of Clas Pots 4j=No of hss Points to No.of Clase [1 Points ‘= No.of Cas & I eit o Teal No, of Points DG; = Desi Gap at pont DF = Design uch t point vers. of Constraints ‘The constraints of the optimization problem are derived from ‘the geometry of the problem. There are three classes of constraints and within each constraint class there are multiple constraints. The three classes of constraints are euler parameter ‘sormalization constraints, minimum gap constraints, and ‘minimum parallelism constraints Euler Parameter Normalizalion Constraint. The Euler parameter constrain is inchued a » constraint to insure that the fetation of the door is valid, therefore, resuhing in a ‘homopencou transformation, The relationship between the Euler Parameter must be: dedededet 1 the optimization routine however, this comraat i writen as an inequality constraint to account for computer round-off errs. ence, the constr fr the foot doo eatin ie writen a: te OF ex} exX}oxL-DsE “This constrain must also be inched for the rear dor to esse thatthe rotation ofthe rear door is valid. Simlary, the Euler parameter constraint forthe ee door x or OG 9d Xho, ‘wher, Eis a small number and the Xi this case re the Euler paramters and optimization variables (X; ~ Xj forthe front door nd Xq =X; forthe rea door) ‘Gap Constraint. The gxp constrain is included inthe model to allow the user some flexibility. The user has a choice in the luge of the pap constraint. Esseataly, the gap constraint is ‘Added to the model to allow the user to specify « minimum Allowable gap at « measurement point ‘To develop the equation for the constraint, the vector from a ‘meaturemeat point on the body to the corresponding pot on the door must be defined. This vector has been defined in equation | Volume XXII, 1995remant Point usd Fl alte Femi A | ‘ T= Ate Optimization FIGURE 4: GAP AND FLUSH VALUES BEFORE AND AFTER OPTIMIZATION TABLE 1: STATISTICAL RESULT OF THE CASE STUDY Gap & Flush | Gap Range | Flush Range Variation ‘WiO Opim. | 2.5952, 15989 23741 ‘With Optim | 1.4681 0.6972, 1305 * All wits ia me Ia the previous example the weighting factors were all st ‘quily, That is, the importance of each gap and Ouch in he ‘optimization was equal Also, there were no minimum gap and ‘minimon partis coustrins wed inthe optimization. To father demonsiate the cxpsbiltis ofthe opinizton scheme, te same CAD gencratd data was wod for encating 50 replctions of the optimization described above. For cach replication the random deviation on the order witnessed in suomotile plants (60 = 2 mm) is added to each poi. With ‘ach replication the optimum seltion is found andthe within car ‘arition before and afer optimization is calculate ad pleted in figure 5. For comparisoe, the plot of the before and afer opinizton ‘within ca gp od flush version for the 50 samples i shown in figare 5, From the plot enc can soe that in evry cae the within car pp a ach vtiaton wn redcod. On sverige he vation was reduced by 0.69 mum. A summary of some of the ‘optimization parame of interest are shown in table 2 ‘As can be Seen in figure $ and table 2, the variation and the ‘ages lave been reduced. ‘This reduction wil eu in door ft that is more aesthetically pleasing to the customer as well as increasing the functionality f the door. ‘Transactions of NAMRUSME 245 FIGURE &: WITHIN CAR VARIATION BEFORE AND AFTER OPTIMIZATION ‘TABLE 2: SUMMARY OF THE OPTIMIZATION ‘SIMULATION Reduction in Gap and Flush 63 069 mm Gap 66 0.59 om “Gap Range 041 om Flush 60, 0.69 mm Flush Range 045 mm, SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS: In the model description above, two clasts of constraints are introduced. These constraints (Minimum Gap and Minimum Panlelism) are used only when the user chooses to use them. ‘This raises the question of how these constraints affect the ‘optimization. To determine thit enswer analytically would be ‘very dificult due tothe ooa linearity and the shear size of the problem. As « consequence, we have choten to do a sensitivity analysic of two classes of constraints using an experimental ‘approach. In each sensitivity analysis conducted the data from ‘the case study is used. The optimization is then conducted with (he appropriate constraint ured. The constraint value is then varied over s range and the optimum solution is found and compared to the optimum solution without axy coutrints. In the case study presented previously, the optimum location of the panels yielded a gap and fush variation of 146 mm. Itcan be sem from Ggure 6 thal, when 4 gap constraint is used, the ‘optioum gop and Such variation varies from the unconstrained ‘optimum value of 1.46 mum to over 4 mm. When the minimum ‘Bp constraint value is relatively mall the optianum gap and flush variation is found to be the same as the case when no gp constraint is used. However, when the value of the minimum gap is increased, the optimum value of the gep and fush increases accordingly. Otherwise sated, asthe minimum gap constraint value increases, the minimum gap constraint becomes active. Volume XXIt1, 1995waasaevgagagaass: | Sean tates Sen FIGURE 6: GAP AND FLUSH VARIATION VS. MIN. GAP VALUE ‘Similarly, figure 7, when » minimum parallelism constraint is ‘used, the optimum gap and flush varttion varies from the ‘unconstrained optimum value of 1.46 mm to over 1.$ mm. When ‘the minimum paralleliem constraint value is relatively small the ‘optimum gap snd fush variation is found tobe the larger than the cave when no gap constraint is used. However, when the value of | ‘the minimum gap is increased, the optimum value ofthe gap and ‘Such decreases othe unconstrained value of 1.46 mm. etna vate Menten ae A FIGURE 7: GAP AND FLUSH VARIATION VS. MINIMUM PARALLELISM VALUE ‘CONCLUSIONS The pane! fiting problem was formulsted into a constrained ‘optimization problem. The objective of the optimization is to determine the postion of automobile panels in the body opening such that the within-car variation of the gap and flush is ‘minimized, The constraints in the optimization model include: () Euler parameter constraints; (2) minimum gep constraints, snd (3) minimum parlleliem constraints, Simulations were conducted to evalute the effect of the optimal Siting on the door ‘Gt. Based on these simulations, the following observations can tbe made: |The gap and fluch varistion is reduced by the optimization. Based on the 50 simulated door ‘ts presented, the optimization algorithm reduced the within-cervaristion Transactions of NAMRI/SME 246 ‘the gap and Dush on average by 24.3% in $0 simulated door fits and by as much as 43.43% inthe case study presented in this paper. Asa result, the door ft quality is improved both sestetically and functionally. From the $0 simulations presented, it can be seen tht the ‘optimization algorithm found the optimal postion that reeuced the variation in every case, which illustrates the ‘robustness ofthe optimization algorithm, REFERENCES 1 10. u. 2 B. Bons, B., and Mengs, G., 1984, "Best Fiting of Three Dimensions! Bodies", IFAC 9 th International World Congress, Budapest, Hungary Han, SP, 1977, "A globally converge variable method for nonlinear programming’, Journal of Optimization Theory ‘and Applicaions. Vol. 22, pp. 297-309 Hock, W., Schitkowski, K, 1981, "Test Examples for [Nonlinear Programming Codes", Lecture notes in Economics ‘and Mathematical Systems, Vol. 187, Springer Hoska, DR, (1988), "FLAM: What itis. How to achieve itt, Manufacturing Engineering, April 1988, pp. 49-54 Lawsoa CL. and Henson RJ, Solving Least Squares Problems, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ. 1974 Sakai, H,, and Yasumetsu,S., 1993, “Development of Body Fiting System", Proceedings. of the 26 th International ‘Symposium on Automotive Technology and Automation (ASATA), pp. 69-76, Aachen, Germany. ‘Schitkowski, K., 1993, "Mathematical Optimization - An Introduction”, Internartonal Series of Numerical Mathematics, Vol. 110. pp. 33-42 Schitthowaki, K, 1984, "NLPQL - An Optimization ‘Algorithm for Nonlinear Quadcatic Optimization ” Schitthowaki, K., 1986, "DFNLP - A Subroutine to Aid NLPQL in the Optimization of Data Fitting Problems", Version 12 Schitthoweki, K., 1984, "Design Implementation, and tet of 4 nonlinear Programming Algorithm”, Report, institut Fuer informatik, Universitaet Stuttgart, 1984 Schuler, H, Zussman, E., and Seliger, G., 1994, “Optimal Fiting of Objects Based on Range Images - A Planning ‘Approach Assisted by Local and Global Measurements Matching’, Proceadings. of the First SM. Wu Sympostum, Vol. 1, p. 305-312, Chicago. Wu, SK, Ha, SJ, Wu, SM, 1994 Optimal Door Fitting ‘with Systematic Fixture Adjusting In. Journal of Flexible Mamafacturing Systems. Wu, SM, and Hu, $J., 1990, “Impact of 100% Ia-Process Measurement on Statistical Process Control in Automobile Body Assembly," Monitoring and Control in ‘Mansfacturing, E4. S. Liang, T.C. Tst0, ASME Winter ‘Annual Meeting, Nov., pp. 433-448. ‘Volume XXIII, 1995