Electronically networked assembly systems for global manufacturing

In industrial production engineering a radical structural change is taking place. The developments in microelectronics, the data and communication tec hnology as well as the fast evolving markets result in changing requirement s for the productivity, flexibility and availability of assembly systems. T he flexibility of future assembly systems is not only a question of technol ogy but is determined by a holistic view of the value adding chain. The app lication of electronics is a key factor for achieving and maintaining compe titiveness in the major economic fields. The impact of electronics on diffe rent steps in the value adding chain will be discussed exemplarily in the f ield of electronic assembly. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights rese rved.