Assembly plan generation from an assembly illustration by integrating the information from explanatory words

Abstract

This paper presents an approach for assembly plan generation from an assembly illustration. Previously, we have already proposed an approach for the assembly plan related information acquisition from an assembly illustration, in which auxiliary lines were taken as clues. However, some ambiguity remains in dynamic information such as assembly operations and their execution order. We have verified through experiments that the ambiguity could be made clear by referring to the feedback information from the completed assemblage after the assembly operations shown in the current illustration. But in fact, in an assembly illustration there are not only the figures of mechanical parts and the auxiliary lines for visualizing their assembly relations, but explanatory words and explanatory lines as well. Explanatory words can basically be classified into two categories: instructions on assembly operations and mechanical part names. The former explicitly describes dynamic information such as the details of assembly operations. The latter also implies dynamic information such as the function of a mechanical part. Explanatory lines are usually drawn for making clear the explanatory relations. Naturally we consider that to integrate the information from explanatory words with that already obtained through the extraction of auxiliary lines will probably enable us to generate an unambiguous assembly plan from the currently observing illustration.