Title: Current status of reconfigurable assembly systems

Authors: Z.M. Bi, Lihui Wang, Sherman Y.T. Lang

Addresses: Integrated Manufacturing Technologies Institute, National Research Council of Canada, 800 Collip Circle, London, ON N6G 4X8, Canada. ' Integrated Manufacturing Technologies Institute, National Research Council of Canada, 800 Collip Circle, London, ON N6G 4X8, Canada. ' Integrated Manufacturing Technologies Institute, National Research Council of Canada, 800 Collip Circle, London, ON N6G 4X8, Canada

Abstract: A Reconfigurable Manufacturing System (RMS) is one of most promising paradigms that provide an effective solution to changes and uncertainties in a competitive manufacturing environment. A Reconfigurable Assembly System (RAS) is a key component of an RMS. In this paper, our survey on the development of RAS has been summarised. The objectives of this literature survey are to: clarify the needs and drivers in developing reconfigurable assembly systems; identify both academic and practical issues critical to the development of reconfigurable assembly systems; understand the state of the art of R&D related to the studies on the critical issues; and reveal the future research directions, which are mostly beneficial to manufacturing industries.

Keywords: reconfigurable assembly systems; RAS; modular assembly; flexible assembly; robotic assembly; system reconfigurability; assembly automation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMR.2007.014727

International Journal of Manufacturing Research, 2007 Vol.2 No.3, pp.303 - 328

Published online: 02 Aug 2007 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article