ABSTRACT
This chapter brings together the results of work in all the various aspects of assembly. After a careful analysis of the product design, the designer of an assembly machine must produce a proposal that combines many requirements. Some of these requirements, such as reliability and durability, are similar to those for any machine tool. However, certain requirements are applicable only to the assembly machine and are mainly a result of the variations in the quality of the component parts to be assembled. It can reasonably be assumed that an assembly machine can be designed that, if fed only with carefully inspected parts, will repeatedly perform the necessary assembly operations satisfactorily. Sometimes, unfortunately, the real problems of automatic assembly appear only when the machine is installed in the factory and the feeders are loaded with production parts containing the usual proportion of defectives. The possible effects of feeding a defective part into an assembly machine are:
1. The mechanical workhead may be seriously damaged, resulting in several hours or even days of downtime.
