Best practices in the design and deployment of light reconfigurable assembly systems

摘要

The development of the Standard Assembly Cell (SAC) stands as one of the significant recent efforts to bring cost-justified automation in the area of light and medium electromechanical assembly to the defense aerospace industry. Supported both by a body of academic and industrial research and by the availability of infrastructure hardware off-the-shelf, the SAC is a commercial reality already under adoption within missile manufacturing. Drawing on the experience developing a prototype SAC for the automated assembly of inertial navigation components, sponsored by DARPA's Affordable Multi-Missile Manufacturing program, this paper presents a compilation of selected physical and conceptual strategies - best practices - aimed at facilitating the continued deployment of this technology.