Design of a scalable assembly system for product variety: a case study

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a design approach based on the investigation of the sensitivity of assembly systems to volume fluctuations as part of the selection process of alternative design solutions for scalable assembly systems on the basis of a real industrial case study. Design/methodology/approach -A conceptual approach for the (re-)design of a scalable assembly system is developed on the basis of an industrial case research using axiomatic design (AD) for the top level structuring of the framework incorporating useful methods and insights obtained from a thorough literature review and from previous research work. Findings -The findings of this research are limited due to the focused nature of a case study based research. However, the obtained results encourage assuming its transferability to similar problems. Originality/value -Significant research has been done in the design of assembly systems for high product variety, but the review of literature in this field still identifies many opportunities for future research. This paper responds to the clearly identified research need of a methodological guidance regarding the design of scalable assembly systems and offers a practically proven help to improve the efficiency of the design process and the quality of the design results.

Linking product design to flexibility in an assembly system: a case study

“…Given this potential, MMALs and MPALs are flexible and have recently received significant attention from various manufacturing industries (Haq et al , 2006; Hu et al , 2008; Wang, Zhu, Wang, Hu, Lin, and Chen, 2011; Lin and Chu, 2013). Although significant research has been performed in the design and operations of assembly systems in support of high product variety, there is still a significant need to further research in this area (Matt, 2013). The diverse range of product variety offered by an MPAL compared to that of an MMAL enables greater flexibility in terms of the mix and new product flexibility.…”

Assembly line balancing by using axiomatic design principles: An application from cooler manufacturing industry

“…Matt (2012) used AD principles to control complexity dynamics in a mixed-model assembly system. Matt (2013) proposed a design approach based on AD principles to control the sensitivity of assembly systems to fluctuations. Hager et al (2017) proposed a methodology for manufacturing system design, in particular assembly lines.…”

Design of a low-cost loading/unloading mechanism for processing stations in an automated production environment

“…There are several ways of designing such a mechanism and it is easy to get lost among the number of requirements. In the past, the authors have made several successful experiences in using the Axiomatic Design method to structure and solve design problems in the field of assembly system design [1] [2] [3].…”