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Springer Handbook of Automation pp 881–891Cite as

Flexible and Precision Assembly

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Abstract

Flexible assembly refers to an assembly system that can build multiple similar products with little or no reconfiguration of the assembly system. It can serve as a case study for some of the emerging applications in flexible automation. A truly flexible assembly system should include flexible part feeding, grasping, and fixturing as well as a variety of mating and fastening processes that can be quickly added or deleted without costly engineering. There is a limited science base for how to design flexible assembly systems in a manner that will yield predictable and reliable throughputs. The emergence of geometric modeling systems (computer-aided design, CAD) has enabled work in geometric reasoning in the last few years. Geometric models have been applied in areas such as machine vision for object recognition, design and throughput analysis of flexible part feeders, and dynamic simulation of assembly stations and assembly lines. Still lacking are useful techniques for automatic model generation, planning, error representation, and error recovery. Future software architectures for flexible automation should include geometric modeling and reasoning capabilities to support autonomous, sensor-driven systems.

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Abbreviations

2-D:

two-dimensional

3-D:

three-dimensional

DARPA:

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Precise Automation, 5665 Oak Knoll Lane, 95602, Auburn, CA, USA

    Brian Carlisle

Authors
  1. Brian Carlisle
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Correspondence to Brian Carlisle .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. PRISM Center, and School of Industrial Engineering, Purdue University, 315 N. Grant Street, 47907, West Lafayette, IN, USA

    Shimon Y. Nof

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© 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Carlisle, B. (2009). Flexible and Precision Assembly. In: Nof, S. (eds) Springer Handbook of Automation. Springer Handbooks. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-78831-7_50

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-78831-7_50

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-78830-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-78831-7

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

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