Best Practices in the Design and Deployment of Light Reconfigurable Assembly Systems 2000-01-1764

Best Practices in the Design and Deployment of Light Reconfigurable Assembly Systems Raul Fernandez Automation & Robotics Research Institute Romano Patrick Universidad Panamericana ABSTRACT 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.