Advanced Fixture Design for FMS

1 Fixtures and flexible manufacturing systems.- 1.1 Introduction.- 1.2 AMT and fixtures.- 1.2.1 Fixture design and rate of return on investment.- 1.2.2 Fixture design and production leadtime.- 1.3 Fixture strategies for FMS.- 1.4 References.- 2 Fixture design fundamentals.- 2.1 Introduction.- 2.2 Definitions.- 2.3 Fixture design.- 2.4 Design outcomes.- 2.4.1 Fixture plan.- 2.4.2 Fixture layout.- 2.4.3 Fixture element design.- 2.4.4 Fixture body design.- 2.5 Design criteria.- 2.5.1 Design specification.- 2.5.2 Factory standards.- 2.5.3 Ease of use.- 2.5.4 Cost.- 2.6 Design techniques.- 2.6.1 Axiomatic design.- 2.6.2 Rule-based design.- 2.6.3 Group technology.- 2.6.4 Parametric retrieval.- 2.6.5 Algorithms and analysis tools.- 2.6.6 Design procedure.- 2.7 Conclusions.- 2.8 References.- 3 Tolerance control and location surfaces.- 3.1 Manufacturing tolerance stacks.- 3.2 Tolerance charts.- 3.3 A new tolerance charting algorithm.- 3.4 CAPPFD.- 3.5 Conclusions.- 3.6 References.- 4 Flexible fixture systems.- 4.1 Introduction.- 4.2 Evaluation of fixture systems.- 4.2.1 Capital cost.- 4.2.2 Recurring cost.- 4.2.3 Fitness for purpose.- 4.2.4 Short-term flexibility.- 4.2.5 Long-term flexibility.- 4.3 Flexible fixturing.- 4.3.1 Modular fixtures.- 4.3.1.1 Baseplate, riser blocks and tooling blocks.- 4.3.1.2 Locators, supports and clamps.- 4.3.1.3 Tooling cubes, modular blocks and shims.- 4.3.1.4 Evaluation of modular fixture systems.- 4.3.2 Flexible pallet systems.- 4.3.3 Phase-change fixtures.- 4.3.3.1 Authentic phase-change fixtures.- 4.3.3.2 Pseudo phase-change fixtures.- 4.3.4 Conformable fixtures.- 4.3.5 Programmable fixtures.- 4.4 Conclusions.- 4.5 References.- 5 Computer-aided fixture design.- 5.1 Computer-aided design of fixtures.- 5.2 Approaches in fixture design.- 5.2.1 Variant fixture design.- 5.2.2 Generative fixture design.- 5.3 Fixture design techniques.- 5.3.1 CAD tools for fixture design.- 5.3.2 Group technology concept for fixture design.- 5.3.3 AI and expert systems in fixture design.- 5.3.4 Optimization of fixture configurations.- 5.4 Fixture design systems.- 5.4.1 Interactive fixture design systems.- 5.4.2 Semi-automated fixture design systems.- 5.4.3 Automated fixture design systems.- 5.5 A variant fixture design system using GT.- 5.5.1 A feature-based classification and coding scheme.- 5.5.2 Case indexing.- 5.5.3 Case retrieval.- 5.5.4 Case modification.- 5.6 A generative fixture design system using an expert system.- 5.6.1 Workpiece design module.- 5.6.2 Fixture design module.- 5.6.3 Case studies.- 5.6.4 System implementation.- 5.7 References.- 6 Analysis methods for workpiece distortion and deflection.- 6.1 Introduction.- 6.2 Clamping devices.- 6.2.1 Basic requirements.- 6.2.2 The magnitude and distribution of clamping forces.- 6.2.3 Types of clamping devices, clamping action and theoretical estimation of clamping forces.- 6.2.3.1 Screw clamps.- 6.2.3.2 Strap clamps.- 6.2.3.3 Toggle clamps.- 6.2.3.4 Power clamps.- 6.3 Machining forces, force models for milling and drilling.- 6.3.1 Milling force models.- 6.3.2 Drilling force models.- 6.4 Theoretical formulation of workpiece deformation using analytical methods.- 6.4.1 Modelling of workpiece deformation.- 6.4.2 Parameters considered in simulating workpiece deformation.- 6.4.3 Simulation results.- 6.4.3.1 Using parameters as shown in Table 1.- 6.4.3.2 Using parameters as shown in Table 2.- 6.5 Conclusions.- 6.6 References.- 7 Future trends and developments in fixturing methodologies.- 7.1 Introduction.- 7.2 An industrial perspective on fixture design.- 7.3 Future design methodologies.- 7.3.1 Concurrent engineering and fixture design.- 7.3.2 Generic fixture design.- 7.3.3 Case-based learning.- 7.4 Fixturing techniques.- 7.4.1 Modular fixtures.- 7.4.2 Phase-change fixtures.- 7.4.3 Vision systems.- 7.4.4 Dynamic fixtures to meet uncertainties and changes in scheduling.- 7.5 References.