Innovative Assembly Management

Summary A very effective means of improving the efficiency in machine tool industry is an Assembly Management System (AMS). The basis are order specific assembly networks depending on product structure, configuration rules and network informations documented in a relational data base. During order processing a customer specific network is created, which incorporates process alternatives which mirrors the flexibility of the assembly process. In case of disturbances, the AMS will provide the user with sufficient information about the actual situation. A future decision support system will establish and evaluate alternative reactions and will feed back the experience to the network generation system to improve the quality of networks.