AN EXPERT-SYSTEM FOR ASSEMBLY BASED ON AXIOMATIC DESIGN PRINCIPLES

Increasing demands for lower cost of goods, due to international compe tition, has developed a new area of rationalization for increased prod uctivity which can be achieved by applying new radical methods of prod uction principles. Design for Assembly (DFA) is one of such methods th at should be considered in the early design stage in order to cope wit h the increasing demands of lower cost, improved working environment, and higher wages. When Axiomatic Design (AD) is implemented with DFA i n an intelligent way, a new area of design concepts would be realized. This study examines some elements of intelligent design systems to as sess manufacturability of a product through the development of a knowl edge based expert system for assembly (KBESA). The knowledge base has been acquired from DFA along with AD concepts with emphasis on the con ceptual design stage where the structure of the product as a whole is considered. These concepts have been implemented in a case study illus trating its applicability.