Abstract
In order to facilitate automatic assembly by robots, it is necessary to reduce the number of parts to be assembled. A recent study at IBM analyzed the assembly paper feeding device for a copying machine that was composed of 27 different parts. This was too much for an automatic assembly procedure. After redesigning the product, the number of parts was reduced to 14, 13 of which could be assembled by a robot. The remaining part had to be inserted by a human operator. Such redesign usually incorporates several principles which facilitate robotic assembly. For example, the use of symmetrical parts so that the robot does not have to turn parts around, the use of notches to guide the insertion of parts, and a reduction in the number of screws used. The surprising outcome was that although the product could now be assembled by a robot, manual assembly had also been considerably simplified. In fact, it was so easy that it didn't pay off to use a robot. This redesigned part is still assembled by human operators. Obviously, changes that make the process easier for a robot might also simplify manual assembly. It seems ironic that we know more about the needs of robots than humans. This paper will discuss two examples of product design for assembly by robots.
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