Flexible Fixture Design for the Top and End Surface Processing of NP2_NP4 Cylinder Heads

This paper focuses on the design of fixtures for NP2 and NP4 cylinder heads on a horizontal machining center of flexible machining automatic lines.It began with an analysis of the diagrams of part processing and working procedure which formed the basis for the design of the processing technology scheme,a selection of suitable machine tools,and the setting of processing parameters.Fixtures tailored to the chosen machine tools were then designed to meet the processing requirements.Additional aspects of the project included the design of part drawings,calculation of working time quota,design of auxiliary guides,support clamping,and hydraulic circuits,all aimed at fulfilling practical production requirements.

Study on Case-Based Fixture Design

Fixture is an important manufacturing activity. A fixture design system based on case-based reasoning (CBR) is proposed in this paper. A new method of case representation on the basis of fixture function is presented, where the case representation is constituted of workpiece knowledge, processing feature knowledge, and fixture feature knowledge. Running the prototype system shows that the knowledge representation method, using cases, s a better way to transform and explain the design knowledge.

Application of Genetic Algorithm in the Layout of Fixture Components

Automation in the layout of fixture components is important to achieve efficiency and flexibility in computer aided fixture design. Based on basic genetic algorithm and particulars of different fixture components, a method of layout space division is presented. Such techniques as suitable crossover rate, mutation rate and selection arithmetic element are adopted in the genetic operation. The results show that genetic algorithm can effectively be applied in the automatic layout of fixture components.

Fixture Modifications for Effective Control of an Electrodynamic 3D-Shaker System

This work aims to improve the setup of an electrodynamic triaxial shaker prototype with respect to its usability for the automotive industry.Triaxial shakers being capable of meeting the corresponding requirements are not available as standard test equipment.Modifications on the fixture have to be conducted in order to ensure an effective control.The first part of the work is the qualitative description of the system behavior.Therefore,the shaker is treated as a black box.The second part is the modification of the test fixture in order to handle the resonances of the shaker,which is elementary for its usage.A setup is found,that improves testing within the desired frequency range.Thereby,acceleration levels are considered as well as excitation phases and coherences.The proposed setup is used for an exemplary specimen with two different control scenarios.Conclusions are then drawn about the usage of triaxial shakers.

Automatic Fixture Design for Non-rotational Parts Using Fuzzy Comprehensive Judgment Method

Automatic fixture design is a key link in computer aided process planning. The uncertainty in the selection of fixture design schemes necessitates the use of the fuzzy comprehensive judgment method to automatically select an optimal fixture design. This paper reports on the development of a computer aided fixture design system for non rotational parts using the fuzzy comprehensive judgment method running in an integrated process planning environment. Several typical non rotational parts with complicated configurations are used to demonstrate the automatic fixture design system.

Fixture Locating Modelling and Optimization Research of Aluminum Alloy Sidewall in a High-Speed Train Body

The high-speed train body is welded with aluminum alloy assemblies or parts.Due to the material properties,the welding deformation is much significant.In order to control the welding deformation,this paper takes the sidewall welding of a high-speed train body as the research objective,and carries out the fixture locating modelling and optimization research of the aluminum alloy sidewall.Firstly,a finite element model of the sidewall is established and verified by the comparison between the analysis results and the actual measurement data.Then the residual stress and deformation of the sidewall after welding are analyzed.By selecting the longitudinal parameters of different fixture locating layouts for welding analysis,models describing the relat ionship between the maximum welding residual stress and maximum welding deformation and the longitudinal fixture locating distance of the sidewall are established.Finally,the fixture locating model of welding deformation is used to optimize the longit udinal fixture locating distance.And the transverse fixture locating distance is also optimized by comparing different locating positions.The result shows that the welding residual stress and the welding deformation have been decreased in the optimal fixture locat ing layout.

STEP AP 242 Managed Model-based 3D Engineering:An Application Towards the Automation of Fixture Planning

Fixture design and planning is one of the most important manufacturing activities, playing a pivotal role in deciding the lead time for product development. Fixture design, which affects the part-quality in terms of geometric accuracy and surface finish, can be enhanced by using the product manufacturing information(PMI) stored in the neutral standard for the exchange of product model data(STEP) file, thereby integrating design and manufacturing. The present paper proposes a unique fixture design approach, to extract the geometry information from STEP application protocol(AP) 242 files of computer aided design(CAD) models, for providing automatic suggestions of locator positions and clamping surfaces. Automatic feature extraction software "FiXplan", developed using the programming language C#, is used to extract the part feature, dimension and geometry information. The information from the STEP AP 242 file is deduced using geometric reasoning techniques, which in turn is utilized for fixture planning. The developed software is observed to be adept in identifying the primary, secondary, and tertiary locating faces and locator position configurations of prismatic components. Structural analysis of the prismatic part under different locator positions was performed using commercial finite element method software, ABAQUS, and the optimized locator position was identified on the basis of minimum deformation of the workpiece.The area-ratio(base locator enclosed area(%)/work piece base area(%)) for the ideal locator configuration was observed as 33%. Experiments were conducted on a prismatic workpiece using a specially designed fixture, for different locator configurations. The surface roughness and waviness of the machined surfaces were analysed using an Alicona non-contact optical profilometer. The best surface characteristics were obtained for the surface machined under the ideal locator positions having an area-ratio of 33%, thus validating the predicted numerical results. The efficiency, capability and applicability of the developed software is demonstrated for the finishing operation of a sensor cover – a typical prismatic component having applications in the naval industry, under different locator configurations.The best results were obtained under the proposed ideal locator configuration of area-ratio 33%.