Second International Symposium on Intelligent Information Technology Application

Case-based Reasoning and Intelligent Variation Approach in Fixture Design

Weifang Chen, Peihuang Lou, Zhenghua Shen College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210016, China meewfchen@nuaa.edu.cn, mecphlou@nuaa.edu.cn, shennuaa@126.com Abstract
Case-based reasoning and rule-based reasoning are two techniques using the experience to resolve problems in fixture design. Each method has some shortcoming when it is employed separately. A hybrid method of casebased and rule-based reasoning can eliminate the drawbacks of each method and provide a better way for fixture design. In this paper, a retrieval mechanism of case-based reasoning in fixture design is analyzed. An improved algorithm taking the influence of fixture structure into account is proposed for calculating the similarity of fixture cases. A reuse mechanism of fixture cases is discussed from different levels and different groups. The expanded conception of fixture case is proposed. Moreover, variation level and variation method based-on the expanded fixture cases are studied. Finally, a real case is presented to demonstrate that the hybrid of case-based reasoning and rule-based intelligent variation approaches can improve the re-usability of the fixture cases. Currently, the fixture attribute comparison is deeply studied in CBR, while the structure tree comparison and the variation of reasoning results are seldom studied. So the further improvement of fixture design speed is hindered by the shortages such as lacking fixture structure trees comparison in CBR fixture design, and lacking effective variation method of reasoning results.

2. Case-based reasoning fixture design

CBR fixture design is based on the principle that a new fixture case can benefit from the solutions of previous fixture cases. When an engineer designs a new fixture, he/she retrieves one or more previous cases from the case library that are the most similar to the new fixture, and modifies these cases to satisfy the new situation. A fixture case is composed of many fixture design features. So feature extraction is therefore considered firstly in the case library design. The main feature attributes of fixture cases include

1. Introduction
Fixture design is closely related to the experience and knowledge of designers. Rule-based reasoning (RBR) and case-based reasoning (CBR) are two techniques used in fixture design. RBR uses induction rules to determine whether a new problem should be inspected further or not. CBR performs similarity-based matching to find the most similar case in case base to the new problem. Intelligent fixture design method is studied by many scholars recently. Li et al.[1] studied an agile fixture design method based on CBR. Jamil kakish et al. [2] developed a prototype system named UMJFS based on CBR. Kumar et al. [3] proposed a method of getting fixture design knowledge using machine leaning method. Shu et al. [4] studied an index and expression mechanism of fixture cases. However, the case modification was ignored. Hunter et al. [5] described a new fixture design method based on knowledge based template. Because the CBR method needs the support of fixture design resources, it must co-operate with the RBR. The combination is a preferable choice for fixture reuse and variation [6-8].
978-0-7695-3497-8/08 $25.00 2008 IEEE DOI 10.1109/IITA.2008.344 833

design information, process information, and fixturing information. Design information includes the type, material, size, weight and stiffness of the part. Process information includes machining process, type of machine tools, production lot-size, machining precision and parts quantity in one clamping set. Fixturing information includes locating mode, clamping mode, precision of locating surfaces, properties of clamping surfaces, the relations between the main locating surface and the clamping surface, and fixture information. Case searching efficiently is an important challenge because case retrieval is a time-consuming process. It is a central part of CBR and has a great impact on the efficiency of the system. The closest method, knowledge guide method and template search method are the common searching algorithms [9]. In traditional CBR system, case searching and case modifying are carried out in two different spaces, where is lack of the necessary information transmission. In order to increase the speed of modifying and varying of fixture cases, both the difficulty and feasibility of case variation should be considered in searching cases. Hence, the two-step routing method is applied in this paper. Firstly, the type or level of the new fixture in case library is determined by knowledge guide method. Then, the closest method is used as searching

algorithm. In the closest searching method, similarity is defined as

Base plate A Cylindrical pin C Clamp component D Washer D3 Flat clamp D4

snk =

wv
i =1 m

i i nk

Support plate B

(1)
T-bolt D1 Nut D2

w
i =1

Where Snk is the similarity of the nth case to the kth case; vnk is the similarity of the ith characteristic value of the nth case to the one of the kth case; wi is the weight of the ith characteristic attribute; m is the number of attributes used to estimate similarity. Characteristic values are expressed in forms of numerical values, symbols, matrix and structures. Characters of characteristic values belong to a finite set {1,2,,n} which is defined by users. So there is no semantic fuzziness and the characters can be compared directly. The characteristic values can be compared as: vi vi i (2) vnk = 1 i n ki vmax vmin
Rhomb pin E
i

(a) A structure tree of case n

Base plate A Cylindrical pin C Clamp component D Washer D3 Flat clamp D4

T-bolt D1

Nut D2

(b) A structure tree of case k Figure 1 Similarity comparison of fixture structures

3. Reuse grade of fixture cases

Reuse of fixture case works in the whole process including scheme design, optimum design and detail design, with the support of fixture design resources. In detail design, fixture case reuse level can be divided into four grades: feature level, element level, component level and fixture level. Fixture reuse level can also be divided into the same group level, the different group level and the machine tool level. The model of fixture case reuse is described as in Figure 2. The term of fixture scheme case reuse means finding out the locating and clamping mode from case library according to fixture design requirements, which is the basic of optimum design, detail design or new fixture design. The term of optimum case reuse means finding out fixture layout and clamping forces according to requirement information or scheme case, and modifying certain parameters to complete optimization of layout and clamping forces of the new fixture. Reuse of optimum case can efficiently reduce the analysis time and increase the speed of fixture design. Reuse on feature level ensures standardization, rationalization and flexibility of fixture elements to satisfy the fixture design requirements of the most of parts by reducing the element types as far as possible. Reuse on element level is also based on standardization of fixture elements. Standard fixture elements such as bolt, nut, clamp and washer can be used in all fixture design. Fixture elements such as base plate and locating plate can be reused in different fixture design. Reuse on component level includes locating components reuse and clamping components reuse. Similarities on property and mode of locating and clamping are the preconditions of component reuse. For example, clamping component can be reused in many fixture designs with relevant position modification.

1( j = kj ) i vnk = nj j 0( n k ) S i vnk = T
i vnk =

(3) (4) (5)

PnT PkT PnT PkT

Where

i i vmax and vmin are the maximum and minimum of i i vn and vk are the ith

the ith characteristic value;

numerical values of the nth case and the kth case; nj and

kj are the jth characters of the nth case and the kth case; S
is the number of same items of matrix;T is the total number of matrix items; Pn and
T

PkT are efficient path set

of the close element of the nth case and the kth case; PnT PkT and PnT PkT are the intersection and combination of path sets. For an example, the structure similarity of the two fixture cases (Figure 1) is shown in following: PnT ={AB,AC,AD,DD1,DD2,DD3,DD4}

PkT ={AE,AC,AD,DD1,DD2,DD3,DD4}
i vnk =

PnT PkT 6 = PnT PkT 8

(6)

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Process information Fixturing information Mapping rules Variation rules Assembling rules Three-dimensional models Article characteristics Optimizing files Design schemes

Requirements Sub-requirements Scheme design reuse Sub-requirements Sub-requirements Detailed design reuse Element reuse

Optimum design reuse

Feature reuse

Fixture reuse Component reuse Same group fixture reuse Different group fixture reuse

Different machine tool fixture reuse

Scheme base Optimum base Fixture base Component base Element base Feature base Knowledge base

Figure 2 Fixture cases reuse model

The term of reuse on fixture level means finding out the design drawing and related resources of the most similar fixture to complete fixture design of a new part by small variation. Similarities on fixturing characteristics, locating mode, clamping mode and machining processes are the preconditions of fixture reuse. For fixture reuse of the same group, design of fixture case should be faced to corresponding processes of part-family. The term of fixture reuse of the different group means that the fixture of a part in one family can be reused to another one if the fixturing characteristics are similar. For example, the structural shapes of a beam of plane and the part of missile are greatly different, but fixture reuse can be implemented because they are all located with one-surface and two-holes and the differences of critical size are small. Whats more, fixture reuse can be employed among different types of machine tools. That means a milling fixture can be used as a turning fixture. If the base element of a one-surface and two-holes fixture of a milling machine is changed to circular base plate which can be used in both turning and milling machine, the fixture can be reused.

4. Rule-based intelligent variation

Rule-based intelligent variation in fixture design means reasoning the suitable portions of modifying, reservations, replacing and adjusting according to similarities and differences of the new fixture and the similar fixture case, and changing them to satisfy the new fixture design requirements according to the variation methods. Case variation is very difficult in CBR. Three methods must be used, that is, judging and modifying by users, rule-based variation, and case combination. The first method is intuitive and feasible. The second one is closely related to knowledge of fixture design, so knowledge based variation mechanism should be created. The third one can be interpreted as reuses on element and component levels.

Current CBR system is usually used to create case library for a single process of a certain part. As a result, the case library contains a large number of cases. Expanded fixture case refers to fixture case which can satisfy fixturing requirements of a certain type or multitypes parts and complete variation rapidly. Reconstruction and flexibility of elements or components should be considered when the expanded fixture case is created. Firstly, public elements and private elements need to be distinguished. Secondly, design of expanded fixture case based on analysis of private elements and public elements contains three aspects: nodes, conditions/rules and variation parameters. Nodes can be private elements and public elements, can be virtual nodes and real nodes, and also can be components and elements. Relationship between the real nodes is structure. Relationship between virtual node and real node is choice condition or variation rule. Virtual nodes are not contained in actual fixture structures. Node of next level which will be one part of fixture template is determined according to the choice condition or variation rule. Each node has correlative property set, a part of which relates to the variation of next level. For example, the height of clamping component is related to the length of bolt of next level. Variation parameters refer to parameters of fixture template which can determine the dimensions, so the structure variation can be completed by changing the parameters. An example is shown in Figure 3, C3 and C12 are virtual nodes.

4.2 Fixture variation based on expanded fixture cases

Expanded fixture case is created according to certain constraints and rules (including parameter constrains, geometry constraints and variation rules, etc.). If a part of structure and elements changed, corresponding constraints and rules can be used to link other part. In order to complete fixture variation of expanded fixture case, the structure and variation situation must be analyzed and classified. Then, corresponding variation rules of all classes are established to meet the

4.1 Expanded fixture cases

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requirements of rapid fixture design. Variation of expaneded fixture case can be divided into five types: (1) replacements of fixture elements (2) zoom of element dimensions, (3) position change of fixture elements, (4) addition of fixture elements, (5) combination of different variations. For example, if the distance of two locating holes of the part and the locations of clamps are changed, and the diameters of the two holes, locating mode and clamping mode remain, the new fixture can be generated by changing positions of locating elements and clamping elements (see Figure 4). The process of case variation is divided into four levels
C* C1* C11 C121 C2 C13 C* Variation C1* C11 C122 C2 C13 C31 C3
1

according to the difficulty. (1) Minor modifications Modifications of fixture case are very little, almost no change and replacement. The variation is completed by just modifying relative positions of elements and components. (2) Small modifications Changes of locating elements and additions and deletions of linking elements of clamping are needed because of changes of location datum and clamp positions. The assembly relations between locating/clamping elements and base plate remain, so did the base plate.
C* C C1* C3 Variation C32 Variation C1* C11 C122 C2 C13 C32 C11 C121 C2 C13 C32

Variation C11 C121

C1 C12

C2 C13 C122 C31

C*

Expanded fixture cases

Figure 3 Fixture variation based-on expanded fixture cases

Figure 4 Fixture element positions changed

(3) Large modification At this level, locating elements, part of clamping elements and base plates have to be changed because of the changes of location datum and clamp positions. The assembly relations between locating/clamping elements and base plate remain. (4) Significant modifications At this level, location datum, clamping surface and dimension of part changes sharply. As a result, locating elements, a few clamping elements and base plates need to be changed as well as the additions and deletions of some elements, and the assembly relations between locating/clamping elements and base plate are also changed.

4.3 Creation of fixture variation knowledge base

Expression of fixture variation knowledge is a key of intelligent variation. Production rules, framework and object-oriented method are common knowledge

expression methods. Production rules have the properties of readability, intuitive reasoning model, easy to understand and high efficiency of reasoning. There are a large amount of experiences and knowledge of causal links and logic judgment in fixture variation, so production rules are used to express variation knowledge in this paper. It can be expressed as: R#=IdAtPsCs where Id is the rule number; At is the property of rule, such as rule name, rule note and so on; Ps is the set of preconditions, including properties, property values, comparison types, and threshold values of preconditions; Cs is the set of rule conclusions, including properties, property values, operations and credibility of conclusions. Variations of different level and type have corresponding variation methods. Computer aided intelligent variation can be achieved by expressing and storing variation knowledge with production rules after analysis and classification. Example of fixture variation in one-face and two-holes locating mode and clamp component variation are given as follows. One-surface and two-holes are the common location mode of box or shell parts. Location datum is the plane and the two holes. Supporting base plate, locating plate, cylindrical pin and rhombus pin are common locating elements. Sizes of locating holes, dimensions of locating surface and distances between locating holes determine the sizes and layout of locating elements. Change of any

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factors will cause fixture variation. Changes of diameters of locating holes will cause variation of sizes of cylindrical pins and rhombus pins. Change of the distance between the locating holes will cause modification of the distance of holes in the supporting plates. The variation knowledge base of fixture locating can be created using production rules. The analysis of clamp component variation is a similar process. For example, if the height of clamping surface exceeds the allowable range of clamp component (clamp, bolt, nut, washer and so on), the clamp component needs variation. The two main variation methods are: 1) driving the dimensions of corresponding elements (such as the length of the bolt) to complete height variation, 2) adding, removing or replacing washers or supporting blocks to modify the height. If the clamping position is changed, the relative position between the clamp component and the base plate will vary. If the shape of clamping surface is changed, the shape or size of clamps will be changed too. Appropriate variation rules can be concluded by comparing the similarities and differences of rule preconditions of the new part model and the case model after variation knowledge base is created. Then rulebased intelligent variation can be finished on the basis of expanded fixture cases, design resources and assembly algorithms.

5. Conclusions
In this paper, a new case retrieval mechanism is created to improve the accuracy of case reasoning. Multi-level reuse mechanism in fixture design is analyzed deeply. Rule-based intelligent variation technology of fixture cases, such as establishing method of extended fixture cases, acquisition and expression of variation knowledge, variation level and variation method are studied. The proposed design method is validated and demonstrated by an example. Fixture reuse can be implemented easily by the proposed case variation method.

References
[1] Li wei, Li peigen, Rong Y M(2002). Case-based agile fixture design. Journal of Materials Processing Technology. Vol. 28, No.1-3, pp.7-18. [2] Jamil Kakish, P.L.Zhang, I. Zeid (2000). Towards the design and development of a knowledge-based universal modular jigs and fixtures system. Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing. Vol.11, No.4, pp.381-401. [3] A.S.Kumar, V.Subramaniam, Tan Boon Teck(2000). Conceptual Design of Fixtures Using Machine Learning Techniques. International Journal Advanced Manufacturing Technology. Vol.16,No.3, pp.176-181. [4] Shu H.S., Jahau L.C(1996). A Fixture Design System using Case-based Reasoning. Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence. Vol.9, No.5, pp.533-540. [5] R. Hunter, A. Vizn, J.Prez, et al.(2005). Knowledge model as an integral way to reuse the knowledge for fixture design process. Journal of Materials Processing Technology. Vol.164-165, pp.1510-1518. [6] Yuqin Jia, Yanxiong Zhang, Hong Guo, et al.(2003). Research of Self-form Design Method on Based C&R_BR Agile Fixture. Journal of Taiyuan University of Science and Technology. Vol.24, No.2, pp.79-83(in Chinese). [7] Zhiwei Ni, YangYu, Shanlin Yang, et al.(2004). Research on integrated case-based reasoning system. Journal of System Simulation. Vol.16, No.11, pp.803-806(in Chinese). [8] E.L.Rissland, D.B.Skalak(1991). CABARET: rule integration in a hybrid architecture. International Journal of Man-Machine studies. Vol.34, No.6, pp.839-887. [9] Lei Xu, Guofu Yin ,Qian Ning, et al.(2005). Agile fixture design based on function-case reasoning. Computer Integrated Manufacturing Systems. Vol.11, No.4, pp.458461(in Chinese).

4.4 A case study of fixture variation

The variation method of modifying element positions without changing fixture elements and structure to meet design requirement is demonstrated as following example. The part and the fixturing surface are shown in Figure5. The processing includes slot machining and outer cylindrical turning. The searched fixture case and part are shown in Figure 6. Comparing the fixturing characteristics of the part with the fixture case, the main differences are the form and size of the surface and machining contents. The retrieved variation rule is: if D1case>D1 or D1case<D1 then moving three locating components |D1case-D1|/2 outward or inward. That means the positions of locating components are changed while the assembly constraints remain. If the locating components are moved to the outside base plate, the size of base plate should be modified.

Figure 5 A thin-walled part

Figure 6 A fixture case

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