An integrated framework for the assembly oriented product design and optimization

His research interests include DFMA, assembly process planning, production systems modeling and simulating, and quality management in virtual organizations. She is a designated Miller Fellow for year 2002-2003 for enhancing undergraduate graphics course. She received the Ray Witt Gift from the Foundry Educational Foundation in 2000. Dr. Smith's research focuses on assembly/disassembly analysis, CAD/CAM, product design , virtual reality, and robot motion planning. Abstract This paper presents an integrated framework for assembly-oriented product design and optimization (AOPDO). In AOPDO, the three main activities of an assembly planning system (design for assembly (DFA), assembly process planning, and production simulation) are integrated in a single framework. Moreover , in AOPDO the three main activities of an assembly planning system support each other, in accordance with the practice of concurrent engineering. Function models for AOPDO are also presented. The IDEF0 (Integration Definition for Function Modeling) analysis method is used to describe the activities and provide communication between models. Through AOPDO, all assembly activities and their applications are integrated into a powerful computer aided product design and optimization system.