This paper to be published in the Proceedings of the 1996 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation
For more information, contact: Roger Quinn, Associate Professor - Mechanical Engineering
Case Western Reserve University, 216-368-3222
Design of an Agile Manufacturing Workcell for Light
Mechanical Applications
Roger D. Quinn, Greg C. Causey
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Frank L. Merat, David M. Sargent, Nicholas A. Barendt
Wyatt S. Newman, Virgilio B. Velasco Jr.
Department of Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics
Andy Podgurski, Ju-yeon Jo
Leon S. Sterling, Yoohwan Kim
Department of Computer Engineering and Science
Case Western Reserve University (CWRU)
Cleveland Ohio, 44106
Abstract
This paper introduces a design for agile
manufacturing workcells intended for light mechanical
assembly of products made from similar components (i.e.
parts families). We define agile manufacturing as the
ability to accomplish rapid changeover from the assembly
of one product to the assembly of another product. Rapid
hardware changeover is made possible through the use of
robots, flexible part feeders, modular grippers and
modular assembly hardware. The flexible feeders rely on
belt feeding and binary computer vision for pose
estimation. This has a distinct advantage over non-
flexible feeding schemes such as bowl feeders which
require considerable adjustment to changeover from one
part to another. Rapid software changeover is being
facilitated by the use of a real-time, object-oriented
software environment, modular software, graphical
simulations for off-line software development, and an
innovative dual VMEbus controller architecture. These
agile features permit new products to be introduced with
minimal downtime and system reconfiguration.
1. Introduction
1.1 What is Agile Manufacturing ?
Agile manufacturing is a term that has seen
increased use in industry over the past several years. The
definition of “agile”, however, is not clear, nor is it
consistent: “Agility: The measure of a manufacturer’s
ability to react to sudden, unpredictable change in
customer demand for its products and services and make a
profit”
1
. “Today factories are coming on line that are
agile at tailoring goods to a customers requirements,
without halting production...”
2
. “Agile manufacturing
assimilates the full range of flexible production
technologies, along with the lessons learned from total
quality management, ‘just-in-time’ production and ‘lean’
production”
3
. The only common thread among the
various definitions is the ability to manufacture a variety
of similar products based on what may be rapidly
changing customer needs. In the past, production was
geared toward high-volume production of a single
product. In today’s market, however, the emphasis is
moving toward small lot sizes from an ever-changing,
customer-driven product line.
Figure 1: Agile Workcell
A definition of “agile” manufacturing has been
adopted which applies to light mechanical assembly of
products: Agile manufacturing is the ability to accomplish
rapid changeover between the manufacture of different
assemblies utilizing essentially the same workcell. Rapid
changeover (measured in hours), further, is defined as the
ability to move from the assembly of one product to the
