A Case Study of Product Design for Assembly Using an Integrated Method

Design for assembly (DFA) is an important principle in product development for cost saving and product improvement. Previous DFA research mainly concentrated on a forward process from product design to final assembly planning, which neglects the backward validation using assembly planning to verify the product design. This paper presents an industrial case study of product design for assembly. It uses well-established DFA concepts and integrates the design analysis and a genetic algorithm in product assembly planning to achieve a complete application of DFA in product development. Criteria of the design analysis are established using DFA rules, the assembly efficiency and the connector-based fitness function. Product design alternatives and assembly sequences are considered simultaneously as a basis of the product design for assembly execution.Copyright © 2005 by ASME