An integrated model to generate the assembly sequences

This paper introduces a novel method to generate assembly sequences starting with the CAD solid model of a product. A methodology is developed to extract the geometric information, which is represented by two types of matrix called the contact and the translational functions. From this geometric information, all compulsory (hard) constraint relations are generated. Some constraints which are called compulsory simultaneities are caused by the geometric particularities of a product, and they must be taken into consideration first. Using these constraints, all feasible assembly sequences are generated, then the best one is gained by some strategic (soft) constraints. Compared with the other methods, the efficiency of this one is very high to generate assembly sequences. The approach proposed in this paper will be very useful for specialists in manufacturing engineering who work in a concurrent engineering team in order to evaluate the assemblability of a design.