Conception and development of a support system for assembly technology

Abstract

Due to the digitization of industry and the adaption of Industry 4.0, manufactures have to face considerable challenges. Industrial assembly processes must be as flexible as possible to react to fast-changing customer demands. Today, this is mostly achieved by the use of personnel manually executing the assembly tasks. However, assuring a constant quality of the produced goods is a problem under these circumstances. A possible solution to reduce human errors could be the introduction of assistance systems for highlighting important information and guidance during the assembly process. However, most of the available systems cannot adequately provide the required flexibility and restrict assembly workers. Hence, new and innovative assistance systems for industrial assembly are needed that can overcome these limitations and that allow greater flexibility. This contribution compares different basic concepts for the realization of such an innovative assistance system. It proposes a Pick-by-Local-Light system as a suitable approach to meet industrial requirements. The concept foresees small modules mounted directly to the front side of the individual load carriers. These modules visually highlight the respective carriers. The conceptual work is evaluated with a prototypical proof-of-concept. Also, a questionnaire with industrial experts and assembly workers for hydraulic valve assembly processes verified the suitability of the proof-of-concept assistance system. In summary, the developed assistance system has received widespread approval. This work thus laid the foundation for the implementation of a novel assistance system in industrial assembly.