Subassembly identification and motion generation for assembly: a geometric approach

A method for automated generation of an assembly procedure for a given assembly is presented. The procedure is generated from the parts geometry and topology model, and thus explicit specification of mating relations between parts is not required. The approach also prevents wrong mating relations from being presented and makes checking for validity unnecessary. The geometric considerations in the generation of the assembly sequence make it possible to evaluate assembly performance directly and to easily generate detailed assembly plans, such as grasping, transferring, and manipulation, based on the given geometry of the assembly. Algorithms are presented for finding a collision-free path for disassembly motions. The efficiency and feasibility of the algorithms is demonstrated through a case study