Design for parts orientation and handling.

Design for parts orientation and handling to minimize non-value-added manual effort and ambiguity in orienting and merging parts. Basic principles to facilitate parts handling and orienting are:

• Parts must be designed to consistently orient themselves when fed into a process.
• Product design must avoid parts which can become tangled, wedged or disoriented. Avoid holes and tabs and designed "closed" parts. This type of design will allow the use of automation in parts handling and assembly such as vibratory bowls, tubes, magazines, etc.
• Part design should incorporate symmetry around both axes of insertion wherever possible. Where parts cannot be symmetrical, the asymmetry should be emphasized to assure correct insertion or easily identifiable feature should be provided.
• With hidden features that require a particular orientation, provide an external feature or guide surface to correctly orient the part.
• Guide surfaces should be provided to facilitate insertion.
• Parts should be designed with surfaces so that they can be easily grasped, placed and fixtured. Ideally this means flat, parallel surfaces that would allow a part to picked-up by a person or a gripper with a pick and place robot and then easily fixtured.
• Minimize thin, flat parts that are more difficult to pick up. Avoid very small parts that are difficult to pick-up or require a tool such as a tweezers to pick-up. This will increase handling and orientation time.
• Avoid parts with sharp edges, burrs or points. These parts can injure workers or customers, they require more careful handling, they can damage product finishes, and they may be more susceptible to damage themselves if the sharp edge is an intended feature.
• Avoid parts that can be easily damaged or broken.
• Avoid parts that are sticky or slippery (thin oily plates, oily parts, adhesive backed parts, small plastic parts with smooth surfaces, etc.).
• Avoid heavy parts that will increase worker fatigue, increase risk of worker injury, and slow the assembly process.
• Design the work station area to minimize the distance to access and move a part.
• When purchasing components, consider acquiring materials already oriented in magazines, bands, tape, or strips.