A review on assembly sequence generation and its automation

Abstract

Sequence of feasible mechanical assembly operations plays significant role in overall cost optimisation process for manufacturing industry and thus great importance is given to assembly sequence generation from past four decades. Though achieving at least one feasible sequence is focused in the earlier stages of research, the introduction of soft computing techniques attracted the industrial engineers towards cost-effective, optimised assembly sequences to attain economical manufacturing process. The integration of assembly sequence generation methods with computer aided design environment ensures more correctness and flexibility to automate the process. In this paper, a detailed review on various methods, their applications and limitations is presented and well discussed.