Sheet metal assembly is investment intense. Therefore, the equipment needs to be efficiently utilized. The balancing of welds has a significant influence on achievable production rate and equipment utilization. Robot line balancing is a complex problem, where each weld is to be assigned to a specific station and robot, such that line cycle time is minimized. Industrial robot line balancing has been manually conducted in computer aided engineering (CAE)-tools based on experience and trial and error rather than mathematical methods. However, recently an automatic method for robot line balancing was proposed by the authors. To reduce robot coordination cycle time losses, this method requires identical reach ability of all line stations. This limits applicability considerably since in most industrial lines, reach ability differs over the stations to further line reach ability and flexibility. Therefore, in this work we propose a novel generalized simulation-based method for automatic robot line balancing that allows any robot positioning. It reduces the need for robot coordination significantly by spatially separating the robot weld work loads. The proposed method is furthermore successfully demonstrated on automotive stud welding lines, with line cycle times lower than that of the corresponding running production programs. Moreover, algorithm central processing unit (CPU)-times are mere fractions of the lead times of existing CAE-tools.
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Research-Article
An Industrially Validated Method for Weld Load Balancing in Multi Station Sheet Metal Assembly Lines
Johan Segeborn
Dept. 81620/PVÖS32,
e-mail: johan.segeborn@volvocars.com
,
Johan Segeborn
Volvo Car Corporation
,Dept. 81620/PVÖS32,
Gothenburg SE-405-31
, Sweden
e-mail: johan.segeborn@volvocars.com
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Daniel Segerdahl
,
Fredrik Ekstedt
,
Johan S. Carlson
,
Johan S. Carlson
e-mail: johan.carlson@fcc.chalmers.se
Fraunhofer-Chalmers Research Centre
,Chalmers Science Park
,Gothenburg SE-412-88
, Sweden
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Mikael Andersson
,
Anders Carlsson
,
Anders Carlsson
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Rikard Söderberg
Department of Product and Production Development,
e-mail: Rikard.soderberg@chalmers.se
Rikard Söderberg
Chalmers University of Technology
,Department of Product and Production Development,
Gothenburg SE-412-96
, Sweden
e-mail: Rikard.soderberg@chalmers.se
Search for other works by this author on:
Johan Segeborn
Volvo Car Corporation
,Dept. 81620/PVÖS32,
Gothenburg SE-405-31
, Sweden
e-mail: johan.segeborn@volvocars.com
Daniel Segerdahl
e-mail: daniel.segerdahl@fcc.chalmers.se
Fredrik Ekstedt
e-mail: fredrik.ekstedt@fcc.chalmers.se
Johan S. Carlson
e-mail: johan.carlson@fcc.chalmers.se
Fraunhofer-Chalmers Research Centre
,Chalmers Science Park
,Gothenburg SE-412-88
, Sweden
Mikael Andersson
e-mail: mande535@volvocars.com
Anders Carlsson
Rikard Söderberg
Chalmers University of Technology
,Department of Product and Production Development,
Gothenburg SE-412-96
, Sweden
e-mail: Rikard.soderberg@chalmers.se
Manuscript received November 22, 2011; final manuscript received August 12, 2013; published online November 5, 2013. Assoc. Editor: Steven J. Skerlos.
J. Manuf. Sci. Eng. Feb 2014, 136(1): 011002 (7 pages)
Published Online: November 5, 2013
Article history
Received:
November 22, 2011
Revision Received:
August 12, 2013
Citation
Segeborn, J., Segerdahl, D., Ekstedt, F., Carlson, J. S., Andersson, M., Carlsson, A., and Söderberg, R. (November 5, 2013). "An Industrially Validated Method for Weld Load Balancing in Multi Station Sheet Metal Assembly Lines." ASME. J. Manuf. Sci. Eng. February 2014; 136(1): 011002. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4025393
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