Mechanical Assembly and Its Role in Product Development

Introduces mechanical and economic models of assemblies and assembly automation on two levels. "Assembly in the small" comprises basic engineering models of rigid and compliant part mating and explains the operation of the Remote Center Compliance. "Assembly in the large" takes a system view of assembly, including the notion of product architecture, feature-based design and computer models of assemblies, analysis of mechanical constraint, assembly sequence analysis, tolerances, system-level design for assembly and JIT methods, and economics of assembly automation. Case studies and current research included. Class exercises and homework include analyses of real assemblies, the mechanics of part mating, and a semester long project