Assembly modelling approach for special purpose machines
ISSN: 0144-5154
Article publication date: 14 December 2017
Issue publication date: 5 March 2018
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop an assembly modelling approach to be applied with a software package, to assist in the design and assembly of special purpose machines (SPMs).
Design/methodology/approach
A database of SPM elements was established, and an assembly relationships graph was created. Mating conditions were identified between the SPM elements, and their assembly constraints were extracted and implemented in SolidWorks application programming interface.
Findings
The implementation of this assembly modelling approach was validated by selecting SPM layouts as examples. A significant reduction in the assembly time was achieved compared to the traditional assembly procedure for the same examples.
Originality/value
This is a new application of assembly modelling that assists engineers and designers in the design and assembly processes of SPMs. This approach can also be applied to other machine tools with similar attributes.
Keywords
Citation
Farhan, U.H., Tolouei-Rad, M. and Osseiran, A. (2018), "Assembly modelling approach for special purpose machines", Assembly Automation, Vol. 38 No. 2, pp. 158-172. https://doi.org/10.1108/AA-12-2016-170
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited Bingley, United Kingdom
Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited