Assembly (production)

Final assembly: installation of vehicle seats in automobiles
(perspective section from a production line)

In industrial production according to VDI 2860, assembly ([ mɔn itaːʒə ]) ( listen ^?^/^I ) refers to the totality of all processes for the assembly of bodies with a geometrically defined shape (lengths, angles).

The essential sub-operations of an assembly process are:

Joining (screwing, nailing, welding, gluing, soldering, clipping)
Handling (grabbing, laying, turning, moving, securing, controlling)
Check
Adjusting (e.g. setting)
Auxiliary operations (e.g. cleaning , heating or cooling for press connections , deburring , unpacking, sealing, oiling, ...)

The reverse of assembly is disassembly using appropriate disassembly techniques.

In addition to the areas of work preparation and parts production, assembly forms part of the production system of an industrial company.

Mounting types

The assembly process can be divided into two types

Primary assembly

The primary assembly is the joining of the components to a whole, an assembly , an aggregate (technology) or an end product . Primary assembly includes all work operations that add value to a product, i.e. physically change the assembly object. Assembled objects can - in contrast to individual parts - i. d. Usually dismantled again (see dismantling ). This is of great importance for maintenance , repair and disposal or recycling .

Secondary assembly

Secondary assembly includes handling, testing, adjustment and special auxiliary operations that support the assembly process but are not fundamentally required. All secondary assembly operations should be avoided or reduced as far as possible, as they do not change anything on the assembly object itself and thus do not contribute directly to added value.

Secondary assembly processes (SMV) are - depending on the selected assembly principle - all necessary processes that represent expenditure of time, information and energy without creating any added value for the product.

Assembly efficiency

By analyzing the so-called primary assembly process (PMV) and the secondary assembly process (SMV), the efficiency of assembly can be determined as a quantitative assessment criterion.

{\ displaystyle \ eta _ {\ mathrm {M}} = {\ frac {\ sum \ mathrm {PMV}} {\ sum \ mathrm {PMV} + \ sum \ mathrm {SMV}}} \ cdot 100 \, \ %}

In the case of craftsmen, assembly often refers to the installation of the goods on site, in some areas certain types are also standardized, for example in Austria window assembly according to ÖNORM . Colloquially derived from this are craftsmen who work on assembly for a long time away from their place of residence .

The typical job that derives from assembly is the fitter, whose task, depending on the production step, includes pre-assembly, partial assembly or final assembly of components , assemblies , units or end products .

Pre-assembly and final assembly

Due to the increasing complexity of the end products, their assembly is divided into several pre-assemblies and the actual final assembly of the product, which has advantages for reasons of space and cost, but also for reasons of better production control. The automotive industry has developed more and more in the direction of a highly automated assembly industry in which suppliers are also included. These often deliver pre-assembled assemblies just-in-time to the vehicle manufacturer's plant, where they only have to be installed on the final assembly line . The main suppliers for their part can again outsource certain pre-assemblies to sub-suppliers, so that a complex supply chain is created.

literature

VDI guideline 2860
B. Lotter, W. Schilling: Manual assembly: planning - rationalization - economic efficiency. , VDI-Verlag, Düsseldorf 1994, ISBN 3-18-401244-1 .
B. Lotter: Assembly in industrial production: a manual for practice. Springer, Berlin 2006, ISBN 978-3-540-21413-7 .
H.-P. Wiendahl et al .: Factory Planning Manual: Concept, design and implementation of adaptable production facilities. Hanser Verlag, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-446-22477-3 .
W. Herlyn: PPS in automobile construction - production program planning and control of vehicles and assemblies . Hanser Verlag, Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-446-41370-2 .
W. Holle: Computer-aided assembly planning - assembly planning and simultaneous engineering . Hanser Verlag, Munich 2002, ISBN 978-3-446-21986-1 .

Web links

xpertgate.de website on the subject of assembly and its sub-operations
Gabler Business Dictionary [1]

Individual evidence

↑ Lotter, Wiendahl: Assembly in industrial production , Springer, 2006, p. 2.
↑ W. Herlyn: PPS in automobile construction - production program planning and control of vehicles and assemblies. Munich 2012, p. 34 ff, p. 216 ff.
↑ Lotter, Wiendahl: Assembly in industrial production , Springer, 2006, p. 210 ff.

[1] Lotter, Wiendahl: Assembly in industrial production , Springer, 2006, p. 2.

[2] W. Herlyn: PPS in automobile construction - production program planning and control of vehicles and assemblies. Munich 2012, p. 34 ff, p. 216 ff.

[3] Lotter, Wiendahl: Assembly in industrial production , Springer, 2006, p. 210 ff.