A method to optimize assemblability of industrial product in early design phase: From product architecture to assembly sequence

The development of modular products is diffused in modern production due to the achievable flexibility and to the required product personalization. Modular products can maximize the efficiency of productive processes if they are structured to be easily configurable during the assembly phase. In this context the present work proposes an approach to optimize the product's modular architecture aimed to improve manual assemblability. The goal of this method is to assess the product assembly sequence during the early design stage. In particular it improves the conceptual design for assembly approach by taking into account the role of different flows in the modular product structure and the types of interface between modules. A case study regarding the household appliance field is reported and it allows the method results to be shown and to highlight advantages and drawbacks. A relevant improvement in terms of the reduction of assembly time is obtained. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.