Application of an Information-Based Design for Assembly Theory to Assembly Workstation Design
Abstract An effective presentation of components at the workstation can have a significant impact in reducing assembly time. Our goal is to reduce the assembly time by optimization of the component presentation. The assembly factors recognized in Design for Assembly theory as relevant to both parts acquisition and assembly workstation layout are recognition, orientation, weight, and handling distance. This study considers a single manual assembler at an assembly station, with the components in rectangular bins of differing sizes and aspect ratios. Ninety degree rotations are allowed for minimizing potential handling distance. The assembly task is modelled with multiple assembly points representing the final location of the components. Components can be preoriented or random in the bins, with preorientation removing the recognition and orientation time penalties. The problem formulation employs Mixed Integer Non-Linear Programming (MINLP), and numerical evidence suggests an np-hard problem. Heuristic methods control computational time to practical levels for realistic assembly tasks. Our results show that numerical optimization of assembly workstation layout can reduce the expected level of difficulty over random or manual workstation design methods.