National Institute of Technology Calicut

Department of Mechanical Engineering

COMPOSITE PART

A composite part for a given family is a hypothetical part

It includes all of the design and manufacturing attributes of the family

An individual part in the family will have some of the features that characterize the
family but not all of them

A production cell designed for the part family would include those machines required
to make the composite part

The cell would be designed to allow for size variations (Within allowable range) as
well as feature variations

Such a cell would be able to produce any family member, by omitting operations
corresponding to features not possessed by that part

Definition of composite parts simplifies the identification of groups and also provides
a basis for the design of group tooling, standard machine setups, generic fixtures, etc.

An example for a composite part with its features in parts belong to this composite
part

Composite Part

29

March 2013

National Institute of Technology Calicut

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Another example of composite part

QUESTIONS:
1. What is a composite part? Explain with an example.
2. What is the use of a composite part? How is it useful for machine cell formation?

Composite Part

30

March 2013