Assembling Automation for Furniture Fittings to Gain Durability and to Increase Productivity

Abstract

It is almost an obligation to use furniture fittings consisting of at least three parts in demountable wooden panel systems in the furniture manufacturing industry. The strength capacity of the existing fasteners produced within the company Mesan, was around 500 N on average by manual assembling. Moreover, at least fifteen workers were required to assemble 1400 products per hour at maximum capacity. In the global furniture manufacturing industry, customers expect to be able to disassemble their end-products and require durable connecting fittings. In this study, an automation cell, with high productivity, that assembles three separate parts into one crucial furniture fitting which will meet customer expectations has been established on an industrial scale. The design of the subjected furniture fitting has been re-engineered for these purposes and finally at least 800 N strength capacity is achieved. Additionally, the designed assembly line has a structure that includes pneumatic and mechanical systems that can ensure the assembly of 3400 products per hour in total.