MANUFACTURING ASSEMBLY LINE AND A METHOD OF DESIGNING A MANUFACTURING ASSEMBLY LINE
First Claim
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1. A method of designing a manufacturing process line, comprising:
- identifying a manufacturing process comprising a set of discrete steps to be performed on at least one workpiece;
identifying a plurality of standardized work cells, each work cell having at least one standardized workpiece presenter that supports the workpiece in a predefined spacial orientation, and at least one standardized processing tool;
selecting a subset of the set of discrete steps to be performed at a work cell and selecting the standardized work cell for performing the subset of steps; and
repeating the selecting step for additional subsets of steps to the plurality of work cells until each of the discrete steps is assigned to a corresponding work cell chosen from the plurality of work cells.
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Abstract
A method of designing a manufacturing process line. A process is identified as a set of discrete steps. A subset of steps is assigned to one of a plurality of standardized work cells. The work cells include a standardized workpiece presenter and a standardized processing tool. Additional subsets of discrete steps are assigned to a standardized work cell until the design for the manufacturing process is completed.
108 Citations
37 Claims
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1. A method of designing a manufacturing process line, comprising:
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identifying a manufacturing process comprising a set of discrete steps to be performed on at least one workpiece;
identifying a plurality of standardized work cells, each work cell having at least one standardized workpiece presenter that supports the workpiece in a predefined spacial orientation, and at least one standardized processing tool;
selecting a subset of the set of discrete steps to be performed at a work cell and selecting the standardized work cell for performing the subset of steps; and
repeating the selecting step for additional subsets of steps to the plurality of work cells until each of the discrete steps is assigned to a corresponding work cell chosen from the plurality of work cells. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of designing a manufacturing process line for making an assembly from a plurality of workpieces, the method comprising:
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identifying a manufacturing process comprising a set of discrete manufacturing steps to be performed on a workpiece;
identifying a work cell set having a limited number of standardized work cells, each standardized work cell having a different configuration;
selecting a subset of the set of discrete manufacturing steps to be performed;
selecting a standardized work cell from the work cell set to perform the subset of the set of discrete manufacturing steps; and
repeating the selecting step for additional subsets of steps until all of the discrete steps are assigned to a standardized work cell in the work cell set. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A manufacturing process line for making an assembly from a plurality of workpieces, the manufacturing process line comprising:
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a plurality of standardized work cells, each work cell having at least one standardized workpiece presenter that supports the workpiece in a predefined spacial orientation, and at least one standardized processing tool; and
a plurality of templates arranged in a defined sequence such that a portion of the assembly is formed at each template, each template having a plurality of standardized work cells. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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Specification