Optimal robotic assembly sequence planning with tool integrated assembly interference matrix

Abstract Manufacturing industries are looking for efficient assembly planners that can swiftly develop a practically feasible assembly sequence while keeping costs and time to a minimum. Most assembly sequence planners rely on part relations in the virtual environment. Nowadays, tools and robotic grippers perform most of the assembly tasks. Ignoring the critical aspect renders solutions practically infeasible. Additionally, it is vital to test the feasibility of positioning and assembling components while employing robotic grippers and tools prior to their implementation. This paper presents a novel concept named by considering both part and tool geometry to propose “tool integrated assembly interference matrices” (TIAIMs) and a “tool integrated axis-aligned bounding box” (TIAABB) to generate practically feasible assembly sequence plans. Furthermore, the part-concatenation technique is used to determine the best assembly sequence plans for an actual mechanical component. The results show that the proposed approach effectively and efficiently deals with real-life industrial problems.