This book describes manufacturing theory, general assembly principles, automated assembly processes, product design for efficient assembly, component feeding, inspection and measurement, control systems, machine design considerations, debugging, checkout, start up, and miscellaneous tips. Technical people will learn equipment design features and project management methods that will improve the production results of an assembly system. The business person will learn how to maximize the strategic benefits from a new automation project as well as minimize risks and improve the competitiveness of their business.

Success in automatic assembly design and operation comes from an awareness and sensitivity to a multitude of small design details, and only Frank Riley could pack so much knowledge and experience into a practical and authoritative guide to the selection and application of automatic assembly machinery. This book provides a thorough overview of management, engineering, and machine operator considerations necessary to ensure successful specification, procurement, design, manufacture, installation, and sustained productivity of new assembly systems. Places more emphasis on how corporations can employ an integrated systems approach to automatic assembly to respond to product quality, productivity, global manufacturing competitiveness, and increasingly aggressive consumerism. Includes a vast amount of practical information about all aspects of automated assembly. Thoroughly discusses several unusual and valuable topics, including a look into the 21st Century and the emerging influence of simultaneous engineering in manufacturing.

Text for professional seminars and upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses on assembly automation in manufacturing and product design, and/or reference guide for manufacturing, product, design, industrial, and mechanical engineers seeking to improve productivity and competitiveness while redu

Addressing design for automated and manual assembly processes, Assembly Automation and Product Design, Second Edition examines assembly automation in parallel with product design. The author enumerates the components, processes, performance, and comparative economics of several types of automatic assembly systems. He provides information on equipment such as transfer devices, parts feeders, feed tracks, placing mechanisms, and robots. Presenting detailed discussions of product design for assembly, the book contains over 500 drawings, tables, and equations, and numerous problems and laboratory experiments that help clarify and reinforce essential concepts. Highlighting the importance of well-designed products, the book covers design for manual assembly, high-speed automatic and robot assembly, and electronics assembly. The new edition includes the popular Handbook of Feeding and Orienting Techniques for Small Parts, published at the University of Massachusetts, as an appendix. This provides more than 100 pages packed with useful data and information that will help you avoid the costly errors that often plague high-volume manufacturing companies. In today's extremely competitive, highly unpredictable world, your organization needs to constantly find new ways to deliver value. Performing the same old processes in the same old ways is no longer a viable option. Taking an analytical yet practical approach to assembly automation, this completely revised second edition gives you the skill set you need not only to deliver that value, but to deliver it economically and on time.

Discusses basic engineering planning involved in automating successfully. Includes manufacturing engineering, automation economics, equipment programs, feasibility studies, automating assembly, engineering automation equipment, manufacturing research & more.

Based on the author’s wide-ranging experience as a robot user, supplier and consultant, Implementation of Robot Systems will enable you to approach the use of robots in your plant or facility armed with the right knowledge base and awareness of critical factors to take into account.This book starts with the basics of typical applications and robot capabilities before covering all stages of successful robot integration. Potential problems and pitfalls are flagged and worked through so that you can learn from others’ mistakes and plan proactively with possible issues in mind.Taking in content from the author’s graduate level teaching of automation and robotics for engineering in business and his consultancy as part of a UK Government program to help companies advance their technologies and practices in the area, Implementation of Robot Systems blends technical information with critical financial and business considerations to help you stay ahead of the competition. Includes case studies of typical robot capabilities and use across a range of industries, with real-world installation examples and problems encountered Provides step-by-step coverage of the various stages required to achieve successful implementation, including system design, financial justification, working with suppliers and project management Offers no-nonsense advice on the pitfalls and issues to anticipate, along with guidance on how to avoid or resolve them for cost and time-effective solutions