The aforementioned problems are investigated in the following ways:

Task 1. Assembly system Partitioning and Similarity Measures ([TBS1])
Step 1: Assembly System Partitioning using Key Characteristics (KCs).
Objectives:  - To partition product & assembly system based on system discretization of (i) product into Key Product Characteristics (KPCs) & (ii) process into Key Control Characteristics (KCCs) to identify similarity-based part family
Step 2: Similarity Measure of Product Architecture: Common Product Architecture.
Objective: To Identify common architecture for a product family, and develop a common assembly system architecture
Step 3: Similarity Measure of Assembly Fixture Layouts: Common Assembly System Architecture.
Objective:  To develop a methodology which can convert one production line to another with minimum rework operation costs.

Task 2A. Fixture Workspace Synthesis for Reconfigurable Assembly Systems([22])

Objective:  Identify the best superposition of fixture locating layouts for selected family of parts, by which the corresponding locating points of the family of parts will be contained within the Functional Workspace Envelope of the reconfigurable tool
Step 1:  Obtain preliminary fixture layout configuration for the selected part family using procrustes analysis approach (translations/rotations of fixture layout)
Step 2:  Minimize the necessary fixture workspace envelope ((Cm)_Min(Max)) for the selected part family using fixture layout Pairwise optimization required by Min(Max(Ci))

Description: Reconfigurability of assembly systems is becoming critically important in the rapidly changing market where a family of products needs to be produced on a single production line. This paper presents an approach that allocates the best superposition of locating layouts for a family of parts to be produced on a single reconfigurable fixture. The presented methodology is based on the procrustes analysis integrated with a pairwise optimization of fixture workspace configurations. A case study illustrates the proposed approach.
 

Task 2A. Fixture Workspace Synthesis for Hybrid Assembly Systems ([46])
Description: Rapid market changes and diversification in customer preferences have led to the development of mass customization. This has further increased the importance of responsiveness and convertibility of manufacturing systems. Currently, flexible and/or reconfigurable assembly systems are one of the primary technological enablers in improving manufacturing system convertibility and responsiveness (how do you differentiate between responsiveness vs. convertibility) for new product development. However, the application of a single type of assembly system: dedicated, flexible or reconfigurable, may not be the most effective solution in today's requirements of product life management (PLM). Thus, this paper proposes a methodology for design analysis of hybrid assembly fixture, which aims at an optimum integration of dedicated, flexible and reconfigurable fixtures in a single assembly system. The proposed methodology applies fixture workspace synthesis to optimize the fixturing layout for a given part family, and identify appropriate fixture tooling elements to construct  a feasible hybrid assembly fixture. in doing so it fulfills the dual requirements of system convertibility and cost effectiveness. A few case studies are provided to illustrate the procedure
of the proposed methodology.

Task 3. Visibility Analysis for Reconfigurable Assembly Fixture Calibration ([34])

Objective:  Minimize the number of necessary setups of measurement system (laser tracker) for assembly fixture calibration, i.e., to identify the minimum number of positions, from which  measurement equipments are visible to all the Measured Targets (MTs: fixture locators & clamps), without being blocked by any obstacles.

Description: In a number of manufacturing processes, tooling installation, calibration and maintenance guarantee the precision of fixtures and play important roles towards the overall quality of products. Recently, a new type of measurement equipment called "laser tracker" was developed and utilized for assembly fixture calibration to shorten calibration time and improve the accuracy of the currently used theodolite systems. Though calibration of assembly fixture is critical for product quality, as such calibration time creates significant burden for productivity of multi-station assembly processes. In order to shorten calibration lead-time, the number of necessary setups, determined by visibility
analysis, needs to be minimized. This paper presents a screen space transformation based visibility analysis that allows minimizing the number of setups. The screen space transformation is applied to transform the visibility problem from 3D to 2D space thus, efficiently solving the visibility problem. A case study illustrates the procedure and verifies the validity of the proposed methodology. This methodology can be applied for not only manufacturing process such as in-line fixture calibration but also towards analysis and optimization of AGVs, robots navigation system and building security.

Task 4. Rapid Deployment of Reconfigurable Assembly Fixtures ([24])

Objective: Develop an analytical tool for rapid fixture deployment which allows for simultaneous optimization of both (i) reconfigurable fixture capability to produce a family of parts and (ii)  fixture visibility to minimize number of setups.

Description: Due to rapid changes in recent market demands, shortened production ramp-up/launch and model changeover of new products with simultaneous manufacturing of family of products on a single production line is becoming inevitable. This requires systematic methods for rapid design and analysis of reconfigurable fixture workspace synthesis and visibility. This paper presents an integrated approach for rapid reconfigurable fixture deployment which is based on (1) the procrustes analysis integrated with a pairwise optimization for fixture workspace configurations synthesis; and (2) screen space transformation-based visibility analysis for rapid fixture calibration. A case study and simulations illustrate the proposed approach.