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Assembly automation is a core enabling technology
in a number of key European industrial sectors such as telecommunication
systems and products, precision medical equipment, electronics,
automotive and other sectors. Such industries have common
requirements for increased product customisation and improved
competitiveness in terms of reduced cost, shorter delivery
times and improved quality.
Current design methodology requires a great
deal of time and any man hours of work, especially in the
initial specification, neogtiation and conceptual design phases.
Many additional factors can further delay the production of
a system; communication can often create further delays as
can negotiation and resolution of issues. This puts an emphasis
on controlling these factors in order that the lead time is
reduced.
In order to address these demands in the current
highly competitive market, the users and suppliers of assembly
systems need to work together to deliver highly customised
production systems faster and at a lower cost. To make such
systems efficient they should be able to be reconfigured and
reused for the manufacture of different products. Due to the
level of customisation required, the assembly automation base
in Europe has gradually moved from large suppliers to small,
lean and agile companies capable of delivering a wide variety
of systems in small volumes, often one-of-a-kind and with
shorter delivery times.
The project aims to produce a working prototype
for a web site that will facilitate the exchange of information
needed in order to design systems such as those mentioned
above.
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