The testing and assembly system design: process to select assembly plans according to a testing strategy

This paper explains the necessity of integrating the design of testing systems into the process of assembly system design. In this way, the authors propose a method to include testing in the method to design assembly systems from the Laboratory of Automation in Besancon. The different aspects of the testing problem are explained and formalized with three kinds of variables: aim variable, operative variable and action variable. These variables enable one to design the testing system. A five step process is also presented which is used to generate assembly plans including testing operations and to select the plans according to a testing strategy: 1) establishment of initial data on the product, leading to an operative model of the product; 2) the assembly plan generation including the testing features; 3) the establishment of some knowledge of the operative testing by using a multicriteria analysis; 4) a first selection among the assembly plans generated; and 5) a second selection from among the plans remaining after the first selection.