• IE interfaces
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.29-40
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• 1997

This paper considers two-sided (left and right side) assembly lines which are often used, especially in assembling large-sized products such as trucks and buses. A large number of exact algorithms and heuristics have been proposed to balance one-sided lines. However, little attention has been paid to balancing two-sided assembly lines. This paper presents an efficient assignment rule for balancing two-sided assembly lines. The rule involves maximizing relatedness and slackness between works. We first investigate the characteristics of two-sided line balancing and devise new measures for the balancing. We in this rule assign workstations a set of tasks rather than an unit task at a time. a priority rule of assigning the sets is proposed. Extensive computational experiments are carried out to make the performance comparison between the proposed rule and existing ones. The computational results show that our rule is promising in solution quality.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 1992.10a
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• pp.1072-1077
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• 1992

In ths paper a new active assembly algorithm for chamferless precision parts mating, is considered. The successful assembly task requires an extremely high position accuracy and a good knowledge of mating parts. However, conventional assembly mehtod alone makes it difficult to achieve satisfactory assembly performance because of the complexity and the uncertainties of the process and its environments such as imperfect knowledge of the parts being assembled as well as the limitation of the devices performing the assebled as well as the limitation of the devices performing the assembly. To cope with these problems, a self-learning rule-based assembly algorithm is proposed by intergaring fuzzy set theory and neural network. In this algortihm, fuzzy set theory copes with the complexity and the uncertainties of the assembly process, while neural network enhances the assembly schemen so as to learn fuzzy rules form experience and adapt to changes in environment of uncertainty and imprecision. The performance of the proposed assembly algorithm is evaluated through a series of experiments. The results show that the self-learning fuzzy assembly scheme can be effecitively applied to chamferless precision parts mating.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 1991.10a
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• pp.693-698
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• 1991

This paper describes a fuzzy rule-based assembly algorithm for precision parts mating, The difficulties in devising reliable assembly strategies result from the complexity of the assembly process and the uncertainty such as imperfect knowledge of the parts being assembled as well as the limitations of the devices performing the assembly. To cope with above problems, we propose an assembly algorithm utilizing fuzzy set theory. The presented method allows us to represent the uncertainty by using fuzzy membership function and treat nonlinear sapping from measured force/torque to corrective motions using rules. Finally, the performance of this method is evaluated through a series of experiments. Experimental results show that the proposed method can be effectively used for chamferless and precision parts mating.

• Journal of the Korean Operations Research and Management Science Society
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.1-22
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• 1993

This paper deals with the problem of mixed model assembly line balancing. In mixed model assembly lines, tsks should be assigned to stations in such a manner that all stations have approximately the same amount of work on a production cycle basis. Further in balancing assembly lines, the related tasks, the performing task side and the team tasks should be considered to improve work methods, to give more job satisfaction to workers, and to allow greater flexibility in the design of assembly lines. In this paper, the heuristic dispatch assignment rule is developed to assign evenly tasks of each model to all stations. The heuristic method based on the assignment rule developed is presented for mixed model assembly line balancing with the considerations of the related tasks, the performing task side, and the team tasks. The proposed method is analyzed, and compared with other methods for line balancing.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 1995.10a
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• pp.938-941
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• 1995

This paper is concerned with the determination of assembly unit for hull block assembly processes for shipbuilding. In this study,genetic algorithm is adopted for assembly level allocation and assemaly unit is determined by rule-based reasoning. The criteria to detemine assembly unit is to minimize welding operation time for the block assembly.

• Korean Management Science Review
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.25-48
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• 1996

Mixed Model Assembly Lines (MMALs) are increasingly used to produce differentiated products on a single assembly line without work-in-process storage, Usually, a typical MMAL consists of a number of (1) stations doing exactly the same operation on every job, (2) stations involving operations with different choices, and (3) stations offering operations that are not performed on every job, or that are performed on every job but with many options. For stations of the first type there is no sequencing problem at all. However, for the second type a set-up cost is incurred each time the operation switches from one choice to another. At the third type of stations, different models, requring different amounts and choices of assembly work, creates an uneven flow of work along the line and variations in the work load at these stations. When a subsequence of jobs requires more work load than the station can handle, it is necessary to help the operations at the station or to complete the work elsewhere. Therefore, a schedule which minimize the sum of set-up cost and utility work cost is desired. So this study has developed Fixed Random Ordering Rule (FROR), Fixed Ascending Ordering Rule (FAOR), Fixed Descending Ordering Rule, and Extended NHR (ENHR). ENHR is to choose optimal color ordering of each batch with NHR, and to decide job sequence of the batch with it, too. As the result of experiments, ENHR was the best heuristic algorithm. NHR is a new heuristic rule in which only the minimum addition of violations from both partial sequence and unassigned sequence at every branch could be considered. And this is a heuristic sequencing rule for the third type of stations at MMAL. This study developed one more heuristic algorithm to test the performance of NHR, which is named as Practical Heuristic Rule (PHR).

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.67-71
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• 2003

This paper presents the use of an evert system to automate process planning of block assembly, a task that is usually completed manually. In order to determine the sequence of assembly operation, a search method guided by rules, such as merging of related operations, grouping of similar operations, and precedence rules based on know-hows and geometrical reasoning, is used. In this paper, the expert system developed is explained in detail regarding a global database, control strategies, and rule bases. For verification purposes, the evert system has been applied to simple examples. Since the rule bases are isolated from the inference engine in the developed system, it is easy to add more rules in the future.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 1989.10a
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• pp.296-301
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• 1989

As a cornerstone of assembly automation, the automatic part feeders are used to feed the various kind of the parts to the assembly workstation in the desired order and fashion. In this paper, EXPERT SYSTEM consisting of the data base for the feeding functions and part properties plus the rule base for the selection of feeder types is developed. The symbolic data of the part properties are used as basic factors in the selection rule of the suitable feeder types.

• IE interfaces
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.144-152
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• 2009

Assembly line has been recognized as an efficient production system in mass production. However, the recent production environment characterized as mass customization urges production managers to transform a long assembly line to a number of short assembly cells. To maximize the utilization of resources in an assembly cell, it is important to have the line balanced. This paper presents a bucket brigade-based assembly cell. Bucket brigade is a way of coordinating workers who progressively perform a set of assembly operations on a flow line. Each worker follows a simple rule: perform assembly operations on a product until the next worker downstream takes it over; then go back to the previous worker upstream to take over a new assembly job. In this way, the line balances itself. The bucket brigade assembly cell is analyzed and compared with traditional assembly lines and general assembly cells. The paper also discusses some prerequisite requirements and limitations when the bucket brigade assembly cells are employed.

• The KIPS Transactions:PartB
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• v.13B no.2 s.105
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• pp.139-148
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• 2006

In the collaborative product design environment, the communication between designers is important to capture design intents and to share a common view among the different but semantically similar terms. The Semantic Web supports integrated and uniform access to information sources and services as well as intelligent applications by the explicit representation of the semantics buried in ontology. Ontologies provide a source of shared and precisely defined terms that can be used to describe web resources and improve their accessibility to automated processes. Therefore, employing ontologies on assembly modeling makes assembly knowledge accurate and machine interpretable. In this paper, we propose a framework of semantic assembly modeling using ontologies to share design information. An assembly modeling ontology plays as a formal, explicit specification of a shared conceptualization of assembly design modeling. In this paper, implicit assembly constraints are explicitly represented using OWL (Web Ontology Language) and SWRL (Semantic Web Rule Language). The assembly ontology also captures design rationale including joint intent and spatial relationships.