Towards an Automated System for Robot Assembly Cell Layout Optimization

Abstract

Abstract The manufacturing industry is exposed to various challenges: Increasing competition from companies abroad, the growing unpredictability and volatility of markets, and rising customer demands forcing manufacturers to be highly flexible and offer low-cost products. Using simulation tools, productions systems can be planned and analyzed before the deployment in the field, reducing the commissioning of named systems and avoiding cost-intensive errors. However, manual generation and validation of simulation models is a tedious task and demands expert knowledge of the planners about the simulations tools used. Automated generation of simulation models promises to reduce further commissioning time, making simulation tools more cost-effective. This paper compares existing approaches for 3D simulation generation and/or validation and further presents a concept for automated generation of a 3D model of a robot cell, creating a simulation and validating the processes taking place with minimum user intersection to accelerate robot cell commissioning. This is done by combining layout information with assembly related information extracted directly from 3D product model.