3D MAPS - 3-DIMENSIONAL MECHANICAL ASSEMBLY PLANNING SYSTEM

3D MAPS, an acronym for 3-Dimensional Mechanical Assembly Planning Sys tem, is an automated system that generates detailed assembly plans for three-dimensional mechanical products. It has three major modules: de scription of mechanical assembly design, analysis of assembly models, and generation of assembly plans. Both geometric models and nongeometr ic properties are considered in describing a 3-D assembly design, and the following information is inferred from the system: mating parts, m ating faces, mating directions, collision constraints, and nongeometri c sequence constraints. The inferred information is then used in the s ubsequent planning stage for generating detailed assembly instructions . The planning scheme contains two parts: initial assembly planning th at considers solely geometric constraints, and plan modification that further considers nongeometric constraints. In this paper, the algorit hms developed to implement the above three modules are discussed. Exam ples of mechanical assemblies are used to illustrate the information f low of the entire planning system, from the assembly design input thro ugh the execution of the developed algorithms to the final assembly pl an output. Analysis of the results is also included.