Overview

The are two ways to describe on how a joining operation can be managed.

• Running a joining process such as Job, Batch Process, Sync Process, Joining Program, etc.
• Selection of joint which needs to be addressed where the joining system selects the required joining program.

The first approach (joining process model) is described in detail in section Annex D.

The second approach (joint model) is to allow the integrator to focus on which joints to be addressed, rather than how they are addressed.

The joint approach is useful for the following use cases:

• Use Case 1: The manufacturing process has a high number of product variants or models, etc. which results in various joints.
• Use Case 2: Analytics can be improved using the knowledge of the physical properties of a joint.
• …

Note: The below examples are based on Tightening systems. It can be utilized for any other joining systems.

Joint Model Overview

While assembling a product, a blueprint is used to describe how to make many instances of the product. The idea with the joint model is to capture the same type of data for a joint.

Figure 32 – Joint Model Overview

A joint is used to represent a point where several different parts on a particular product model should be joined together. Refer section 10.15 for joint structure.

Joint design represents the physical properties of a joint. It can contain the following data. Refer section 10.16 for joint design structure.

• Torque, Torque tolerance, Torsion angle limits.
• Residual torque, Clamping force, Tension.
• …

Figure 33 – Joint Design Overview

Joint component represents elements such as Bolts, Rivets, etc. Refer section 10.17 for joint component structure.

An external system can exchange joint data using the methods defined in section 7.6.

Selection of joint can be done using the method defined in section 7.6.5 which selects the joining process needed to perform the joining operation.

Use Cases Solution Details

In the previous sections, there are two use cases illustrating two problems. The models described in section H.2, are intended to solve the defined problems based on the following explanation.

Use Case 1 Explanation: As joint model contains a relation between a joint identity and a joining program, it allows separation of the following responsibilities:

• Which joints should be addressed in a specific station in the factory.
• How such joining operations should be performed.

This results in independent management of changes on the production line which helps in handling the higher number of product variations.

Example:

• Multiple joints can use the same joining program.
• A joining system can assign all the possible joints to corresponding joining programs.

Use Case 2 Explanation: As the joint design model contains the physical properties of a joint, the system has access to more data to perform analytics which can be used to simplify and improve the production process.