Successful Assembly Automation: A Development and Implementation Guide

Successful Assembly Automation: A Development and Implementation Guide

D.A. ShaferSociety of Manufacturing Engineers (SME, USA)1999228 pp.ISBN 0-872643-499-X£53:00Hardcover

Written for manufacturing and engineering personnel, this book is a collection of experience and knowledge from a broad cross-section of people involved in handling and assembling discrete components and soft goods. From this book, technical people can learn equipment design features and project management methods that can improve the production of existing assembly systems. The business person can learn how to maximise the strategy benefits from a new automation project, minimise risks and improve business competitiveness. Engineers who do not routinely handle individual parts, or Web-fed parts, can benefit greatly from learning the basic practices used by engineers with more experience in these areas. Those engineers already experienced in part handling can refine and improve their skills by learning from others with different experiences.

This book is not written as a definitive guide of how to design and manage an automated assembly system. It is intended to fill the gap where existing literature is either inadequate or non-existent, such as for the handling of soft products and the assembly of products at a rate above 60 parts per minute.

One objective of this book is to provide both background and methods for managing the risks of automated assembly projects; another is to take automated assembly from an art to a science. Topics discussed in the text include manufacturing theory, general assembly principles, automated assembly processes, product design for efficient assembly, component feeding, inspection and measurement, control systems,machine design considerations, debugging, checkout and start-up. The appendix contains a range of miscellaneous tips.

This is a superbly-written book, suitable for anyone, newcomer or expert, either with an interest in, or who is actively involved in assembly automation.