Selection of assembly sequences using universal filtering methods

This paper describes "filtering" assembly plans methods permitting the automatic selection of pertinent assembly sequences for a given industrial product. This filtering reduces the number of possible permutations in the assembly sequences that increase with the number of components. The constraints due to the different components of a product are represented by boolean matrices and are used to develop a working model of the product. Universal filters are studied. They formalize the criteria for the choice of assembly sequences for any product by determining the subassemblies and the component which would be the optimal receiver of a product. This information is essential to limit the total number of possible sequences and it can be obtained by combining the constraints matrices and the definition of a subassembly and an ideal receptor. This is compared with other methods which require additional informations.