Design for assembly : re-design of an electrical switch for the ease of automatic assembly

A design for assembly (DFA) method is used to analyze the existing design of parts of an electrical switch, and to reduce and re-design them, for the ease of automatic assembly. The procedure for the selection of suitable and economical assembly method is presented based on the Boothroyd & Dewhurst methods. Analysis of the initial design for manual assembly and the re-design for automatic assembly are presented. An algorithmic approach for simplified generation of all mechanical assembly sequences and selecting the good assembly sequences is presented with graphical representations. A work station needed for the automatic assembly is developed, which incorporates vibratory bowl feeders, an indexing machine and other equipment