Very large assemblies: Optimizing for automatic generation of assembly sequences

Sandia's Archimedes 3.0{copyright} Automated Assembly Analysis System has been applied successfully to several large industrial and weapon assemblies. These have included Sandia assemblies such as portions of the B61 bomb, and assemblies from external customers such as Cummins Engine Inc., Raytheon (formerly Hughes) Missile Systems and Sikorsky Aircraft. While Archimedes 3.0{copyright} represents the state-of-the-art in automated assembly planning software, applications of the software made prior to the technological advancements presented here showed several limitations of the system, and identified the need for extensive modifications to support practical analysis of assemblies with several hundred to a few thousand parts. It was believed that there was substantial potential for enhancing Archimedes 3.0{copyright} to routinely handle much larger models and/or to handle more modestly sized assemblies more efficiently. Such a mature assembly analysis capability was needed to support routine application to industrial assemblies that overstressed the system, such as full nuclear weapon assemblies or full-scale aerospace or military vehicles