In the first object-oriented design of the assembly system, 
the focus is on an ideal workplace design and the optimal 
arrangement of the various assembly components. In a second 
step the students have to rebuild the assembly system and to 
simulate a process-oriented assembly cell, in which the 
various work content is divided on different work stations. It 
is important to distribute the sub-assemblies on the tables as 
well as possible in order to achieve a balanced cycle time on 
every workstation. In several runs the student groups optimize 
the distribution of work content, minimizing the waiting times 
on each table and setting the entire cycle time to a minimum. 
The experience shows that this phase is particularly valuable 
for students because they can associate theory with practice, 
byre distributing the work and through the reorganization of 
the layout, the reduction of gripping ways, through the right 
selection of grab containers and by the use of suitable 
assembly tools (see Fig. 5). The assembly time for the 
pneumatic cylinder as example could be reduced, as follows: