Computer aided geometric feasible assembly sequence planning and optimizing

Assembly sequence planning (ASP) is the foundation of the assembly process planning and design for assembly (DFA). In ASP, geometric feasibility is the prerequisite in the valid assembly sequences searching. The assembly precedence relations' (APRs) deriving and fulfilling are the essential tasks in the geometric feasible assembly sequence planning. In this paper, a systematical approach called geometric constraint analysis (GCA) is proposed and the corresponding software system is developed and integrated with CAD system. Using this system, only with a few mouse clicks on CAD draft, assembly precedence relations (APRs) can be derived correctly and completely. Then, all the geometric feasible assembly sequences can be inferred out automatically. Moreover, an optimal algorithm is designed and realized in the GCA method, by which, the most optimal assembly sequence in terms of the operation convenience can be found out from the immense geometric feasible sequences.