Harmony Search Algorithm for Minimizing Assembly Variation in Non-linear Assembly

The proposed work aims to acquire the maximum number of non-linear assemblies with closer assembly tolerance specifications by mating the different bins' components. Before that, the components are classified based on the range of tolerance values and grouped into different bins. Further, the manufacturing process of the components is selected from the given and known alternative processes. It is incredibly tedious to obtain the best combinations of bins and the best process together. Hence, a novel approach using the combination of the univariate search method and the harmony search algorithm is proposed in this work. Overrunning clutch assembly is taken as an example. The components of overrunning clutch assembly are manufactured with a wide tolerance value using the best process selected from the given alternatives by the univariate search method. Further, the manufactured components are grouped into three to nine bins. A combination of the best bins is obtained for the various assembly specifications by implementing the harmony search algorithm. The efficacy of the proposed method is demonstrated by showing 24.9% of cost-savings while making overrunning clutch assembly compared with the existing method. The efficacy of the proposed method is demonstrated by showing 24.9% of cost-savings while making overrunning clutch assembly compared with the existing method. The results show that the contribution of the proposed novel methodology is legitimate in solving selective assembly problems.