Versatile Assembly Systems - Requirements, Design Principles and Examples

The requirements of assembly systems are changing, due to trends such as shorter innovation and product lifecycles as well as an increase in the number of product variants and product customization. Certain markets are characterized by demand volatility and short delivery schedules. As a result of shortened product and innovation lifecycles and demand volatility, the assembly system design should be versatile. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate a versatile assembly system which was jointly developed by the Fraunhofer IOSB-INA and the Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences