Changeable assembly systems through flexibly linked process modules

Fast changing markets and the trend towards increasing individualization of products make the ability to adapt the production program a key competitive factor of industrial enterprises. Rigidly coupled production lines, as often found in mass production, reach the limits of their flexibility when facing these challenges. To ensure the adaptability of the production system, a systematic method to support the planning of the system's structure is needed. This paper presents the general approach of an innovative structure planning method for complex assembly systems based on Axiomatic Design. Flexibly linked process modules are used, resulting in a changeable connectivity of the assembly system. The focus of the paper is put on the approach to define abilities of process modules as the system's elements in a way that a high universality towards the assembly of different variants is achieved. The integration of this planning step into the overall methodology is briefly outlined. After motivating the research, an overview into the Axiomatic Design based assembly system structure design is given. A detailed description of designing the system elements follows. This paper concludes with a short presentation of application in an automotive industry use case