8 Product

Design for High-

Speed Automatic
Assembly and
Robot Assembly
8.1 Introduction
• The design for the assembly is important for the
manual one which has many benefits, but
fundamental consideration must be taken for the
automatically assembled products.

• For example in the figure the asymmetrical part does

not present problems in the manual assembly while in
the automatic one an expensive vision system is
needed. For economical automatic assembly, the piece
needs to be symmetrical
• This is an advantage because it requires redefining the design, not only having the benefits of automation
but also improving the design.
The main problem of automation is that it concerns the single parts and not the whole product.

• When we consider automatic design, we will pay attention to the design of the parts to facilitate automatic
orientation.

• For the manual assembly we have foreseen the time to carry out the various tasks (ex. Insert and fix, grasp,
etc.). Knowing the labor rate for assembly we can estimate the cost of assembly. While in automatic
assembly the assembly time does not control the cost. If I know the total rate (cost per unit time) for the
machine and all operators are known, the assembly cost can be calculated taking into account the downtime
of the machine.

• We will focus on equipment costs, number of operators and technicians and the assembly speed at which the
system designed to work is. In order to identify particular parts problems we should divide the assembly cost
between individual parts and we should know the cost of feeding and inserting using cycle time.
8.2 Design of parts for high-speed feeding
and orienting.
• The cost of feeding and orienting parts depends on the cost of the equipment and the time interval between the
delivery of subsequent parts. The time between delivery of the parts is equal to the cycle time of the machine.

• The cost of feeding (C f) each part will be given by

where F r is the feed rate and R f is the cost using the feeding equipment.

Using a simple payback method for estimation of the feeding equipment rate

Rf, this is given by

where C f is the feeder cost, E o the equipment factory, P b payback period in months,

Sn the number of shifts worked per day.

• Finding R f as the rate for a «standard» feeder and we assign a relativ cost C r the first equation becomes :

• Cf =R f*(60/Fr)*C r (3)

• With this calculos we can say that the feeding cost per part is inversely proportional to the

• required feed rate and proportional to the feeder cost

• If C f and F r are on logarithmic scales they have a linear relationship results

• We can denote with F m the maximum feed rate and consider the

factors that affect its magnitude.

• Having said that we can use the third equation only when F r is less than F m, otherwise we use this one: C f
=R f*(60/Fm )*Cr (4)

• Where F m is given by F m =1500°/l (5)

• E is the orienting effieciency for part and l its overall dimension in the direction of feeding
• From equation (4) we can see that when Fr> Fm the power supply cost is inversely proportional to Fm and the
cost of feeding is inversely proportional to the orienting efficiency and proportional to the length of the part in
the feeding direction.

• That is the explanation of why automatic feeding ethods are applicable only to small parts.

• This table show how we can classify the parts, shows

how parts are categorized into basic types, either

rotational or nonrotational. This one give the first digit

of a three digit shape code.

• This second table shows how are determinated the This third table shows how are determinated the second and
the third digits for non-rotational parts
second and third digits for rotational parts and give
the values of E and C r
8.4 Additional feeding difficulties
• In addition to the geometric problems of the piece to be
automatically oriented, other characteristics can make
feeding difficult.

• Many features can affect the difficulty in automatically

feeding the piece which would lead to a significant
increase in the development cost of the device. These
characteristics can be seen in the table alongside
8.5 High-Speed Automatic Insertion
• If a part can be sorted and delivered correctly in a convenient location, a special purpose workhead mechanism
can usually be designed. These heads can be designed to run on 1sec cycles. Therefore for automatic assembly
machines with cycles greater than 1 sec the cost will be given by:

• Ci =(60/F r)*R i (6)

• Where F r is the required assembly rate and R i is the cost of using the automatic workhead.

• With a simple payback method for estimation of the equipment rate R i is used, this is given by simple payback
method for estimation of the equipment rate R i is used, this is given by:

• Ri =(W c *Eo )/(5760*P b *Sn) (7)

• Where W c is the workhead, E o the equipment factory overhead ratio, P b the payback period, S n the number of
shifts worked per day.
• If we take this figure as the rate for a
“standard” workhead and we assign a
relative cost factor Wc to any workhead
under consideration the equation (6)
become:

• Ci =Ri*(60/Fr)*W c

• The relative Workhead costs we can see in

the table flanked
8.7Analysis of an assembly
• To make it easier to analyze a complete assembled
piece we can use a sheet similar to the one used for
manual assembly analysis. The image alongside
shows the original piece and the one after the
redesign. The table below shows the complete
automatic assembly sheet.

• From these tables we can see that the cost of

assembly and labor is reduced. The original design
requires four automatic and two manual assembly
stations. Instead, the redesign of only the 4 automatic
stations that reduce costs.
8.8 General rules for product design for
automation
• The easiest way to make assembly easier is to reduce
the number of different parts as much as possible. As
seen in the slide before, the redesign brings
considerable savings in assembly and cost. For
example, the elimination of a part can lead to the
elimination of an entire station on an automatic
assembly machine.

• Automation can also be simplified by using guides and

chamfers that facilitate assembly. The two figures
alongside show how by eliminating the sharp corners
they are removed to facilitate assembly.

• Other examples are screws that tend to center

themselves giving better results in automatic assembly.
• Another factor to consider is the difficulty of
assembly other than that indicated above. The
designer must ensure the sandwich or layered
assembly. The advantage of this method is gravity.

• It is also necessary to have workheads and feeding

devices above the station in case of a defective part.
Assembly from above can also lead to problems as
forces can shift from the correct position. In this case
with an adequate design where the parts are auto-
localized gravity keeps the piece fixed.

• If assembly from above is not possible, it is divided

into sub-assemblies as shown in the adjacent figure.
• In automatic assembly you need to have a base
part where the piece can be made. This base
must be suitable for the workpiece to be
machined. To give stability to the base it is
possible to make a protrusion in the machined
piece allowing a simple and efficient work.

• On the base you can have pins to give further

stability to the workpiece how show in the
figure.
8.9 Design of parts for feeding and orienting

• Many feeders are only suitable for a very limited range of parts and are not questionable about part design.

• We can enumerate 3 basic design principles:

• 1. Avoid designing parts that will tangle, nest, or shingle.

• 2. Make the parts symmetrical.

• 3. If parts cannot be made symmetrical, avoid slight asymmetry or asymmetry

resulting from small or nongeometrical features.

• It can often be impossible to separate, orient and feed
the parts that tend to get tangled, which with a little
redesign prevents this problem.

• Although the asymmetry can be exaggerated to

facilitate orientation, an alternative approach is to add
asymmetrical parts.

• As seen in the coding system tables, parts with a high

degree of symmetry can be handled easily, however
there are a lot of hard-to-handle part codes that cause
problems for the designer.

• In the next figure you can see the part that is difficult
to work with and the other shows the redesigned part
8.10.1 Rules for product design
• 1. Minimize the number of parts.

• 2. Ensure that the product has a suitable base part on which to build the assembly.

• 3. Ensure that the base part has features that will enable it to be readilylocated in a stable position in the
horizontal plane.

• 4. If possible, design the product so that it can be built up in layer fashion, each part being assembled from
above and positively located so that there is no tendency for it to move under the action of horizontal forces
during the machine index period.

• 5. Try to facilitate assembly by providing chamfers or tapers that will help to guide and position the parts in the
correct position.

• 6. Avoid expensive and time-consuming fastening operations, such as screw fastening, soldering, and so on.
8.10.2 Rules for the design of parts
• 1. Avoid projections, holes, or slots that will cause tangling with identical parts when placed in bulk in the
feeder. This may be achieved by arranging that the holes or slots are smaller than the projections.

• 2. Attempt to make the parts symmetrical to avoid the need for extra orienting devices and the corresponding
loss in feeder efficiency.

• 3. If symmetry cannot be achieved, exaggerate asymmetrical features to facilitate orienting or, alternatively,
provide corresponding asymmetrical features that can be used to orient the parts.
8.11 Product design for robot assembly
• In this case, as for automatic assembly, we have to calculate the assembly costs using robots. Many important
aspects of the design will be influenced by the choice of the robot assembly system.

• There are three types of robotic assembly systems:

• 1. Single-station with one robot arm

• 2. Single-station with two robot arms

• 3. Multistation with robots, special-purpose workheads, and manual assembly stations as appropriate.

• For the first type, the parts that require manual handling and assembly present special problems.

• For safety reasons, it is usually necessary to transfer the part to a position outside the robot, process it and then
put it back in its place.
• These major problems with single-station systems do not occur in multi-station systems, where manual
operations are assigned to individual stations. This indicates why it is necessary to know the type of assembly
system.

• To determine the assembly costs we need to know:

• 1. The total cost of all the general-purpose equipment used in the system, including the cost of robots and any
transfer devices and versatile grippers, all of which can be employed in the assembly of other products if
necessary.

• 2. The total cost of all the special-purpose equipment and tooling, including special-purpose workheads, special
fixtures, special robot tools or grippers, and special-purpose feeders; and special magazines, pallets, or part
trays.

• 3. The average assembly cycle time, that is, the average time to produce a complete product or assembly.

• 4. The cost per assembly of the manual labor involved in machine supervision, loading feeders, magazines,
pallets, or part trays, and the performance of any manual assembly tasks.
• Classification systems and databases were developed included in the original Product Design for Assembly Handbook.

• These three images show the classification system and data for each type of robot assembly system. The first digit indicates the
selection of the appropriate line and depends on the direction of insertion.

• The second digit indicates the selection of the appropriate column depends on whether the workpiece needs special pliers and
clamping after insertion.
• In addition to the cost of the robot and the special grippers or tools, it is also necessary to estimate the costs of
the presentation. Before it is realized, it must be decided which presentation method to use. There are only 2
choices:

• (1) A special feeding supply

• (2) A manually loaded magazine, pallet or part tray.

• The costs associated with the presentation of the parts are divided into:

• 1. Labor costs

• 2. Equipment costs, including the depreciation of feeders, special fixtures special tooling, and magazines,
pallets, or part trays.

• There are 3 factors needed to determine the submission cost:

• 1. Special-purpose feeders

• 2. Manually loaded magazines

• 3. Loading of magazines
8.11.1 Summary of design rules for robot
assembly
• The following specific rules are to be followed when designing the product:

• 1. Reduce the parts count; this is an important strategy to reduce crowds, manufacturing and overhead,
regardless of the assembly system to be used.

• 2. Include features such as branches, lips, and chamfers to make parts self-align in the assembly.

• 3. Ensure that parts that are not secured immediately on insertion are selflocating in the assembly. For
multistation robot assembly systems or one-arm single-station systems, this is an essential design rule.

• 4. Design parts so that they can all be gripped and inserted using the same robot gripper. One major cause of
inefficiency with robot assembly systems arises from the need for gripper or tool changes.

• 5. Design products so that they can be assembled in layer fashion from directly above. This ensures that the
simplest, least costly, and most reliable four-degree-of-freedom robot arms can accomplish the assembly tasks
• 6. Avoid the need for reorienting the partial assembly or manipulating previously assembled parts. These
operations increase the robot assembly cycle time without adding value to the assembly.

• 7. Design parts that can be easily handled from bulk.

• 8. If parts are to be presented using automatic feeders, ensure that they can be oriented using simple tooling.
Follow the rules for ease of part orientation discussed earlier.

• 9. If parts are to be presented using automatic feeders, ensure that they can be delivered in an orientation from
which they can be gripped and inserted without any manipulation.

• 10. If parts are to be presented in magazines or part trays, ensure that they have a stable resting aspect from
which they can be gripped and inserted without any manipulation by the robot.