Computer-Aided Design 42 (2010) 10851094

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Computer-Aided Design

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/cad

Computer aided fixture design: Recent research and trends

a, a,b b b
Hui Wang , Yiming (Kevin) Rong , Hua Li , Price Shaun
a
Department of Precision Instruments and Mechanology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
b
Computer Aided Manufacturing Laboratory, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, MA, 01609, USA
ab upon product manufacturing quality,
pro-ductivity and cost, so much
str
article info attention has already been paid to the
act research of computer aided fixture
Article history: design (CAFD) and many
Widel achievements in this field have been
Received 7 April 2009
Accepted 15 July 2010 y reported.
used In this paper, a literature survey of
Keywords: in computer aided fixture design and
Computer aided fixture design Literature survey manu automation over the past decade is
Trend factur proposed. First, an introduction is given
ing, on the fixture applications in industry.
fixtur Then, significant works done in the
es CAFD field, including their approaches,
have requirements and working principles
a are discussed. Finally, some
direct prospective research trends are also
impa discussed.
ct 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
F edious and time-the products, upgrading of
i consuming. Itand a try-and- fixture design
x often heavily relieserror process. methodology
1. Introduction
t on fixture design Therefore, with the hope of
u engineers with the making sound
A fixture is ar experience/knowle increasingly fixture design
mechanism used ine dge and usuallyintense global more efficiently
manufacturing to hold a requires over 10competition and at a lower
work-piece, position itd years which pushes cost. The
correctly with respect to ae manufacturing every development of
machine tool, and sup-ports practice to de-signmanufacturer in computer-aided
it during machining.i fixture design
Widely used ing quality fixtures [industry to
make the best (CAFD)
manufacturing, fixturesn 3]. Traditionally,
technology over
have a direct impact upon the design andeffort to
sharpen its the past
product quality,w manufacture of a
decades can be
productivity and cost.o fixture can takecompetitivenes
attributed to the
Generally, the costsr several days ors by enhancing
fulfilling of this
associated with fixturek even longer tothe products
goal.
design and manufac-ture complete whenquality,
can account for 10%20%i human experiencesqueezing the 1
of the total cost of a s in fixture design isproduction Corresp
onding author.
utilized. And acosts and E-mail address:
wanghuisx@gm
manufactur-ing system [ good fixture reducing the ail.com (H.
1]. Approximately 40% ofa design is oftenlead time to
Wang).
rejected parts are due tol based on thebring new 0010-
dimensioning errors thats designers products to the 4485/$
are attributed to pooro experience, hismarket, there is see front
fixturing design [ 2]. understand-ing ofan strong matter
t desire for the 2010
Elsevier Ltd. All rights research and(including essential to a
reserved. applica-tions ofturning, milling, high dollar
doi:10.1016/j.cad.2010 A fixture design hasgrinding, volume of
.07.003 s been paid muchdrilling, etc), manufactur-ing
attention over pastwelding, processes,
a
n decades [ 4, 5].assembly, including
inspection and national
Many academic
testing. The fol- defense
i and applications
papers have beenlowing Figs. 1 industries.
m
published in this9, are some According to
p
area. In this paper,real fixture Economic
o
we will focus ondesign cases in Impact and
r
an investiga-tionmanufactur-ing. Productivity of
t
of computer aidedFixtures can be Welding, Heavy
a
fixture designclassified with Manufacturing
n
research in thedifferent Industries
t
past decade. Theprinciples. Report, by
following sectionsHowever, American
f
will give a surveycompared with Welding Society
i
on the state of thethe publications and Edison
e
art of theseof CAFD Weld-ing
l
researches. Someresearch in Institute on June
d
conclusions onmachining fix- 2001, The
research trendsture field, only a contribution of
i
are also dis-few [ 616] welding to the
n
cussed. US economy in
have been
1999 via these
m focused on
2. Fixtures in industries was
a other important
manufacturing manufacturing no less than
n
$7.85 bil-lion.
u fields, for
A fixture isinstance, This figure
f
designed toassembly represented 7%
a
position and holdfixtures and of total
c
one or more work-welding expenditures by
t
piece(s) withinfixtures. these firms in
u
r some 1999 [ 17, 18].
i specifications. It is2.1. Welding So there are
n widely used infixtures significant
g man-ufacturing, technical and
, e.g. machining Welding is
commercial
1086 H. Wang et al. / Computer-Aided Design 42 (2010) 10851094

Fig. 1. Machining fixtures (IMAO corp.) [ 19].

Fig. 5. Automotive stud weld fixtures on a trunion frame, (DBM innovation inc.) [ 22].

The workpiece in a welding process is usually an assembly of

several parts, while workpieces undergoing a machining pro-cess
contain only one part.
Usually, the accuracy requirement in a welding process is less than
in machining.
Fixing forces and machining forces in a welding process com-monly
are smaller than in machining.
Thermal reactions in welding should be seriously considered.
Fig. 2. Machining fixtures of aircraft-used bearing housing. routing wiring and pneumatic
Furthermore, these factors also
or hydraulic lines.
should be paid some attention
in welding fixture design cases: In the past decade, only very
limited CAFD research and appli-
1 Electrical conductivity cations have been reported in the
is critical for arc welding welding sector. In this field, due to
stability. the importance of welding for
2 In addition to thermal sheet metal assembly in automo-
conductivity, when selecting bile and aerospace industries, the
fixture ma-terial thermal assembly and welding of sheet
expansion properties also metal has received some special
should be considered. attention. A weld fixture is of-ten
3 Refined welding developed to reduce the
waveforms require an deformation of each workpiece
optimized welding cir-cuit to due to heat and residual stress in
maintain short arc lengths the welding process and, hence,
while reducing spatter, stub- to reduce the dimensional
bing, arc flare, and arc variation of the assembly.
outages to maximize travel
Fig. 3. Grind fixture for turbine blades (aerocad design, inc.) [ 20]. Therefore, some methods of
speeds.
offline or online deformation
4 More complex analysis were developed to
advantages in the development and deployment of welding fixture applications may require a enhance the fixtures ability on
design systems. dedicated fixture. The design
There are obvious differences between machining fixture de-sign and installation of a deformation controlling [ 8, 9]. In
and welding fixture design. As in the following: dedicated fixture frequently
in-volves installing and

cabinets (pioneer industrial

systems LLC.) [ 21].

Fig. 4. Assembly fixture to

locate shelves for assembly of
 H. Wang et al. / Computer-Aided Design 42 (2010) 10851094

Fig. 6. Robot weld fixture (IMPROVE solutions LLC.) [ 23].

a b

Fig. 7. Pin-array fixture application [ 29].

Fig. 9. Dedicated fixture for a part for the
construction machinery (BLUCO corp.) [
30].
Fig. 8. Modular fixture for a part for the construction machinery (BLUCO corp.) [ 30].
sheet metal assembly with laser
welding fixtures also should en-
sure a fit-up of the mating
surfaces to ensure proper laser
beam weld operation and laser
weld quality. As a result, a
traditional 3-2-1 locating
scheme is extended to a mixed
locating idea, total locating and
direct locating for welds [ 10
13]. The total locating scheme is
used to locate the entire
assembly, and the direct locat-
ing scheme is used to locate the
weld joints to meet the metals
fit-up requirement.

2.2. Applications of modular

fixtures and dedicated fixtures

According to the fixtures

flexibility, fixtures also can be
clas-sified as dedicated fixtures
and general purpose fixtures
(e.g. reconfigurable and
conformable fixtures, modular
fixtures). Recon-figurable and
conformable fixtures [ 2426]
can be configured to accept
parts of varying shapes and sizes. Particularly, conformable pin- grinding operations. trying to remain competitive in
array fixture technology [ 27] is widely used in many fixture de-signs The most important and this rapidly changing market by
running production with short
because some components contain internal variables that can be widest used within the general
pur-pose fixture classifications lead times and well controlled
adjusted to meet the different features of workpieces (as Fig. 7).are modular fixtures. As the cost, modular fixtures have
And phase-change materials-related fixtures also are used in some flexible manufacturing system gained in popularity be-cause of
precision manufacturing. For instance, in the aerospace industry, has been adopted by more and its performance on easy usage,
low melting-point metals are used to enclose turbine blades and more man-ufacturers who are versatility, and its adapt-ability to
produce well-defined surfaces for part location and clamping for product changes.
1088 H. Wang et al. / Computer-Aided Design 42 (2010) 10851094

Fig. 10. A dedicated tube bending fixture (Winton machine company) [ 31].
dedicated fixture is fixtures merely used the
Modular fixtures allow a wider designed for a specific drafting capabilities of a
flexibility by making use of stan-dardproduct, the designer CAD system in assembly.
workholding devices andcan carefully tailor the Modular fixture elements
components. Their flexibility is de-design to not only meet such as baseplates,
rived from the large number ofthe basic fixturing locators, supports and
possible fixture configurations from requirements such as the clamps are stored in a
the different combinations of fixturelocating ac-curacy, database. Based on the
stability, stiffness, but fixturing idea, first, the de-
components. The application of
also optimally facilitate signer specifies the
modular fixtures contributes
the oper-ational primary locating surface
considerably to shortening the lead
requirements such as (point) and its locator
time and reducing the cost in small-
loading/unloading positions, the suitable
volume production with ver-satile
convenience and clamping surfaces and
products. However, it also has some
efficiency, and effective positions, and then selects
limitations [ 28]: chip disposal etc. And and places the appropriate
Fig. 10 is a dedicated fixturing components in the
1 Only limited combinationstube bending fixture.
de-sired positions.
can be achieved from these Compared with Although there is a
compo-nents, meaning that it ismodular fixtures, reduction in the total time
possible that no suitablededicated fixtures are
taken
combination can be built for somede-signed carefully
workpieces with irregular oraccording to workpieces
complex ge-ometries. design and manufac-
2 Structural properties ofturing requirements. So
modular fixtures are sometimesthere are more
diffi-cult to be maintained.uncertainties imposed on
Structural properties of modulardedicated fixture design
fixtures include locating accuracy,tasks. In modular fixture
stiffness, stability, loading and un-design, there is a
loading, operating speed, etc. It is component library with
common that using modularpre-designed and
fixtures may not achieve andimensioned standard-
optimal fixturing quality. ized fixture components.
3 Not suitable for massThus, the modular fixture
production, e.g. automotiveconfiguration design is
production and its componentsactually to assemble the
manufacture. fixture components into a
con-figuration.
For comparisons sake, Fig. 8 Due to its extensive
shows a modular fixture used for ause in current
part for the construction machinery,manufacturing and stan-
and the same part also used in Fig.dardized production, in
many reported CAFD
9, where a dedicated fixture solution
researches and ap-
is given.
plications, modular
The dedicated fixtures are also
fixturing principles are
important in manufacturing,
employed to generate
particularly, for advanced,
sophisticated and precise part orfixture designs [ 3243].
mass production. Because aEarly CAFD in modular
 (i.e., the locating and
clamping units, together
with the base plate), are
generated. During the
verification stage, the
Fig. 11. The basic elements of the design is tested to ensure
fixture design process. that all manufacturing
requirements of the
to produce a fixture assembly, theworkpiece can be
final design depends largely on thesatisfied. The design also
designers experience. Thus theyhas to be verified to
only provide fixture engineers with aensure that it meets other
simple tool to do fixture design design considerations that
manually based on some ex-tendedmay include fixture cost,
functions of commercial CADfixture weight, assembly
software. As a result, currenttime, and
industrial applications of CAFD areloading/unloading time of
very limited even though there are both the workpiece and
many reported researchfixture units [ 50].
achievements.
Over the past decade, much Currently, even
focus has been put on intelligentthough numerous
methods for computer aided fixturetechniques concentrating
design to seek a technicalon fixture design have
breakthrough in embedding morebeen proposed and
design knowledge into semi-made some
automatic or automatic CAFDachievements,
systems. A detailed discussion will be
done in the following sections ( Table
1).

3. State of the art

3.1. Intelligent and automatic fixture

design methods

Typically, fixture design involves the

identification of clamps, locators, and
support points, and the selection of the
corresponding fixture elements for their
respective functions. There are four
main stages within a fixture design
process setup planning (D1), fixture
planning (D2), fixture unit design (D3)
and verification (D4), as Fig. 11
illustrates [ 48, 63]. Setup planning
determines the number of setups
required to perform all the
manufacturing processes, the task for
each setup, e.g., the ongoing
manufacturing process and workpiece,
orientation and position of the
workpiece in each setup. A setup
represents the combination of
processes that can be performed on
the workpiece by a single machine tool
without having to change the position
and orientation of the workpiece
manually. During fixture planning, the
surfaces, upon which the locators and
clamps must act, as well as the actual
positions of the locating and clamping
points on the workpiece, are identified.
The number and position of locating
points must be such that the workpiece
is adequately constrained during the
manufacturing process. In the third
stage of fixture design, suitable units,
 H. Wang et al. / Computer-Aided Design 42 (2010) 10851094 1089

Table 1
Current CAFD literature.
Method Level of detail Application
D1 D2 D3 D4

Shen, et al. [ 6] Reconfigurable fixtures, Automotive engine

machining and assembly
Liu, et al. [ 7] Assembly fixture fault diagnosis, sheet metal
joining process
Lien et al. [ 8] Integrated measurement in clamping On-line correction of welding paths, Robotic
systems welding of thin-walled aluminum structures
Sikstrom, et al. [ 9] Superelement (SE) fixture modeling, Fixture design in fusion welding
Coupled thermalmechanical analysis

Zheng, et al. [ 32] Peng, et al. [ 3335] Kumar, et al. [

36] Mervyn, et al. [ 38]

Subramaniam, et al. [ 44, 45]

Fan, et al. [ 46, 47]

Wua, et al. [ 37]

Hou, et al. [ 39]

Girish, et al. [ 40]

Lin, et al. [ 41]

Kakish, et al. [ 42]

Cai, et al. [ 43] Boyle, et al. [ 48, 49] Wang, et al. [ 50]

Chen, et al. [ 51]

Wardak, et al. [ 52, 53] Krishnakumar, et al. [ 54, 55]

Subramanian, et al. [ 56, 57] Hamedi [ 58]

Choubey, et al. [ 59]

Kaya [ 60]

Aoyama, et al. [ 61]

Li, et al. [ 1013]

 Precise modular fixture
Desktop virtual reality technology Modular fixture design and simulation
CAD-based collision detection Modular fixtures
Evolutionary search algorithm IMAO modular fixtures
Multi-agent system, Genetic
algorithms and Neural networks
XML based information
representation, Case based reasoning
method
Linkage mechanism theory: a four-bar Modular fixture
mechanism and linkage curve
Modular fixtures
Tabu search Fixture elements management Modular fixture elements
Modular fixtures for measurement
Knowledge-based modeling Universal modular jigs and Universal modular jigs and fixtures
fixtures information modeling TRIZ-based evolution study for modular fixture
TRIZ evolution technology
Case based reasoning
Case based reasoning Modular fixtures for welding
Case based reasoning
Finite element method Drilling fixtures
Finite element method, Genetic Machining fixtures
algorithm
Genetic algorithm
Artificial neural network, Genetic
algorithm, Finite element method
Genetic algorithm Machining fixtures
Finite element method, Genetic Machining fixture
algorithm
Genetic algorithm
Finite element method, Genetic Sheet metal assembly with laser welding
algorithm
Ding, et al. [ 14, 15] Fixture fault diagnosis, assembly processes
Kang, et al. [ 6265]
Amaral, et al. [ 66] Finite element analysis
Zheng, et al. [ 6769] Finite element analysis For fixture stiffness,
Hurtado, et al. [ 7072] Finite element method, modeling of Machining fixtures
fixture-workpiece contacts
Ratchev, et al. [ 73] Finite element method The prediction of part-fixture deformation and
tolerance
Asante [ 74] Finite element-based Load and pressure distribution calculation
Wang [ 7579] Tolerance analysis in fixture-workpiece system
Estrems, et al. [ 80] Fixtures in machining processes
Bansal, et al. [ 81] An integrated fixture planning system for
minimum tolerances
Li, et al. [ 16] Multiobjective Optimization Tolerance allocation, assembly fixture
Wu [ 28] Geometry generation of fixture
Note: Setup planning (D1), fixture planning (D2), fixture unit design (D3) and verification (D4).
w new intelligentapplications usingmethods, : how to
mature and commercialit or automaticvarious intelligent such as represen
CAFD applications alsoh technologies on expert t fixture
are very limited. Fixturea synthesizing system, design
design still continues tom traditional case knowl-
be a major bottleneck ina geometric based edge in a
the promotion of currentj design tools, reasonin computer
manufacturing. Thiso design g, and and how
work currently, isr knowledge, and genetic to
implemented by a typicalb past design impleme
algorithm
designer-centered o cases have nt the
(GA),
pattern, that is, all fixture tt attracted much problem
etc.
design related work isl interest in both solving
In procedur
heavily dependant one academic
essence,
the experience andn institutions and e.
developi At the
knowledge of fixturee industries. The
ng fixture
designer. This situationc efforts over past initial
design
hampers thek decades in this stage of
methodol
CAFD
improvement of. field have ogy
two
productivity, requires aT resulted in needs to
decades
long time to cultivate anh numerous clear two
ago,
experienced fixtureu computer aided crucial
expert
designer and make thes fixture design problems
systems
fixture design job weak, (CAFD)
were often used as aa active knowledge is modeleda series these
heuristic tool, whichn environment [as a set of many IF-of rules.
can enlighten fixturei THEN rules. Then,questioni However,
82]. In most of
designer to a completen during the interactiveng
these
fixture design solution,t fixture design process,answerin
methods,
particularly, fixturee the design solutiong actions
design
configuration design inr would be concluded bybased on
1090 H. Wang et al. / Computer-Aided Design 42 (2010) 10851094

Table 2
Some CBR methods in CAFD.
Case representation
Chen, Define fixture design by
et al. [ 51] attributes template
Fan, XML and UML
et al. [ 46, 47]
Boyle, Divide fixture design
et al. [ 48, 49] information into two
libraries: conceptual design
library and fixture unit
library
Sun, Using MOP (Memory
et al. [ 83] Organization Packages)
method to define classes
Wang, XML and semantic objects
et al. [ 50] modeling
CBR procedure
Interactive mode: Designer
selects some important
attributes to match current
design case with stored cases
Combination of the search
results from two case
libraries
Cases matching according to
four basic objects relevant to
workpiece and fixtures
Interactive mode: Three tiers
CBRs (rough indexing, solution
configuration and physical
form determination) +
designer intervene
high similarity between cases does not necessarily result in a case
that can be easily adapted.
The CBR procedure in most of those articles is similar, a cy-
cle such as Aamodts classic model []. But as a typical experienced
based design process, after one cycle of CBR (without a designers
interaction), current fixture design does not have a good perfor-
mance on obtaining a good solution. That is why we proposed
interactive multi-tier CBRs for a fixture design system [ 50]. Multi-
level CBRs, from rough indexing, solution configuration to physical
form determination, each cycle the result can get a chance to up-
date and become more close to the ideal result. Each time, after
one CBR process completes case indexing and retrieval, the system
will present the designer with a selection of cases for a detailed de-
cision, rather than just one that is preferred more than any other.
And the designer is required to select the preferred case(s) and de-
termine what changes need to be made to solve the new case and
how this change can be achieved. Hence, this is an interactive de-
sign process, that requires multiple rounds of CBR reasoning and
human intervention before approximating the final solution.

difficulties on building an enough completed rule set and the logic
tree for reasoning procedure have an obvious impact on the design
efficiency and the quality of the result. Furthermore, the interactive
mode also makes the reasoning procedure very boring.
In comparison, Case based reasoning (CBR) does not require
so much complicated domain knowledge system as the expert
system. It is mainly concerned on how to create a new solution
by imitating past cases, based on the assumption that similar
workpiece will have a similar fixture design solution. So first, it
focuses on structuralizing fixture design cases and to emphasize
some crucial data which will be the focus in measuring similarities.
Then, the final solution will be generated by modifying the
best similar design case according to case comparison. The CBR
technique gives the possibility to avoid time-consuming and
expensive experiments and is able to propose a good starting point
for the detailed design (physical form) without many complicated
calculations. Table 2 gives a comparison among some CBR methods
in the past decade.
Two techniques remain necessary and crucial in CBR. One is
for an efficient method to refine, model and utilize fixture design
domain knowledge (fixture design cases), and the other is for an
effective technical system which can assist the fixture designer
not only by simplifying the design process, but also by generating
design ideas.
The prevailing methods on case modeling are based on an
attribute set. For example, Chen [ 51] used a case template to
structuralize all fixture design cases, and Fan divided fixture
design data into three attribute groups, part representation, setup
representation and fixture representation. However, there are few
guidelines on defining and choosing appropriate attributes. So this
mostly relies on the designers experience: The designer selects
some important attributes which he thinks are important to the
current design case and use these attributes as a vector to compute
and match stored cases. Thus, it results in a demand for systemizing
fixture design domain knowledge to clarify the design requirement
in CAFD. Therefore, Boyle [ 48, 49] developed a methodology to
classify fixture design information into two libraries: conceptual
design information and fixture unit information. Furthermore, Hui
re-organized fixture design information into three tiers: workpiece
(design requirements), fixturing plan (fixture configuration)
and fixture units.
The fixture design domain knowledge representation has a
3.2. Generating optimal fixture configuration layouts
The research of generating optimal fixture configuration lay-
outs has received much attention in the CAFD community [ 5861,
1015]. These layouts specify the optimum positions where the fix-
ture should contact the workpiece being machined. The main ideas
are similar in these typical fixture layout optimization research
articles (as Fig. 12). The first step is the application of the machin-
ing process analysis method to predict the machining forces ex-
erted on the workpiece. This analysis is typically carried out for
a large sample of cutting tool positions and orientations through-
out the machining cycle. The second step is the deformation anal-
ysis of the fixture-workpiece system, utilizing the pre-determined
load cases. Typically deformation analysis is based on the finite
element method (FEM). The loads and the shape of the machined
surface are calculated, and hence, the deformation of workpiece,
under a given locating and clamping scheme, will be analyzed as
to whether or not it is in an acceptable region. In general, if consid-
ering the clamping and machining forces over the entire machining
process, by simulating the dynamic machining process, the analy-
sis on workpiece deformation will be more accurate [ 54, 55], with
a cost of time-consuming computation. Finally, it will employ an
optimization process (GA is mostly used) to search for a potential
solution space and determine the locations of the fixtures within
acceptable candidate regions with a minimized workpiece defor-
mation [ 56, 57].
Most of relevant works assumed some conditions: treat fixture-
workpiece contact as point contact [ 5457], the workpiece is
deformable while the tools and fixtures are rigid. So one limitation
of these methods is that they usually give a list of coordinates
specifying where the fixture should be located, without providing
the actual physical form of the fixture unit. Even though by
considering more relevant factors, e.g., using the workpiece and
process information, some performance criteria (ease of loading
unloading, cost and rate of production), in the design process [ 44,
45], fixture unit information also is a high level concept that only
specifies its basic type and the nature of its components. Currently,
the design of a physical form of fixture is geometric based and there
is a long way to go before systemizing the research on automatic
or intelligent fixture physical design.
One interesting method is using the required height as the criti-
cal dimension for fixture unit generation, then to complete the de-
crucial impact on the CBR procedure. Actually, a single CBR system tailed fixture shape. Particularly, this method is useful for modular
using attribute similarity often has not a good performance on fixture unit design where a fixture unit is usually assembled with
accurate results. Sometimes, the attributes which the designer several existing modular fixture components. So the fixture height
determined this time do not fit the next time for case indexing, or a can play a crucial role on searching potential elements to assemble.

H. Wang et al. / Computer-Aided Design 42 (2010) 10851094 1091

Fig. 12. Typical FEM based fixture design solution analysis framework [ 73].
construction. Verification
of a fixture design solu-
tion is necessary for the
following reasons: (1)
there are too many
factors involved in the
design process; it is
very difficult to estab-
lish accurate analysis
models in the process.
(2) Design constraints
are considered
individually; some
contradicting constraints
may be produced when
they are considered
together. (3) Fixture
design has a close
relationship with other
activities (such as
Computer-Aided
Process Planning, and
Computer-Aided
Fig. 13. Overview of fixture Manufacturing) in a
verification system [ 6265]. manufacturing system;
the design solution
needs to be verified as
practicable for the whole
3.3. Fixture design verification manufacturing system.
Verification or
Fixture design verification is themonitoring is also
technique to verify exist-ing fixture needed in the use of a
design by analyzing its geometricfixture system to justify
constraining ability, achievedwhether the system is in
tolerance, the deformation and stabilitya good condition. As the
of fixture-workpiece system, andFig. 13, Kang and Rong
fixturing accessibility, etc., and tohave developed a
provide related improvementmethodology concept of
computer aided fixture
suggestions on the design [ 6265].
design verification to
Fixture verification is an integrated part
unify various verification
of the design process and must allow
aspects into a
for the detection of any interference
framework.
that may occur dur-ing the fixtures
 In this field, the stability of the fixtures of rigid bodies the workpiece-fixture, and
workpiece-fixture system, par-ticularly,and of point contacts also considered the
the deformation and accuracy of the without friction has been friction between these
system, always attracts most of thewell described and surfaces, with the
attention. Research on the stability of studied in the literature. assumption that the
the fixture-workpiece system, can However, in contact interface between
provide a mechanism for the defor- machining, particularly, the workpiece and
mation and error chain in thein precision and ultra- locator/clamp obeys the
workpiece-fixture system which will precision manufacturing, laws of linear elasticity
guide the user to choose perfect the understanding of the and so elastic
fixtures, adjust suitable fixturing forces sensitivity char- deformation is the linear
and fixture positions to generateacteristics of workpiece- summation of the
adequate contact forces to keep the fixture system could be influence of all forces in
workpiece in an accurate position of particular benefit to the normal and tangential
during machining. By contrast, due to the manufacture of direction acting on the
the fact that most research focuses on intricate and/or precise contact interface.
machining fixtures where there is onlyparts of complex Assuming a case of only
one workpiece, seldom does researchshapes. So in the single workpiece-fixture
put attention on the degree of freedom analysis and numerical contact, Satyanarayana [
and geometric constraints of wholesimulation pro-cess, the
71] have presented a
system, even though this problem also stiffness of fixtures
comparative analysis of
is important in as-sembly relatedshould be considered,
and the contact model the different boundary
fixturing situations.
conditions contact
Typical research on the stability ofof the workpiece-fixture
elements (nodal and
a workpiece-fixture system needs tosystem also needs to be
surface-to-surface), nodal
model workpiece boundary conditionsmore ac-curate.
boundary conditions
and applied loads during a machining Some significant
(nodal displacement
process, before the analysis on the efforts have been done in
constraint and nodal
deformation of a workpiece, as thethe modeling of
workpiece-fixture contact. force) available for
work by Amaral et al. [ 66]. However, sphericalplanar and
they only considered the positions ofRatchev et al. [ 73] used planarplanar contact
locators and clamps, and did not spring elements to models.
consider the deformation of fixtures inrepresent the point However, they also
this process. The tolerances arecontact between the regarded the fixture as a
defined based on surface samplefixture and workpiece. rigid body. Un-
points, and the workpiece-fixtureAnd Asante [ 74] derstanding the stiffness
system is assumed to be rigid. Thispresented a surface model of the fixture unit
kind of workpiece-fixture system for is very useful
surface contact model of
1092 H. Wang et al. / Computer-Aided Design 42 (2010) 10851094
and geometric variability Besides those sources,
[ 6769], particularly when predictingof the locators and the in the research of the
geometric variability of relationship between
the contact load and pres-sure
the workpiece itself. machining error and
distribution at the contact region in a
Inaccuracies in a fixture positioning error,
workpiece-fixture system. Thus, this some assumptions on
fixtures location scheme
can help the designer very much inresult in a devia-tion of modeling the workpiece-
the detailed design of a fixturethe workpiece from its fixture sys-tem also can
(including its shape, material, etc.),nominal specified affect the validity of the
even though currently, the physicalgeometry (posi-tion and results. For instance,
form of the design of the fixtureorientation of datum assum-ing that the
usually de-pends on the geometricreferences). For a workpiece-fixture system
analysis from the designersworkpiece, this deviation
is a rigid body [ 76, 70],
experience. must be within the limits and the workpiece-fixture
allowed by the geometric contact as a theoretical
3.4. Deformation and error analysis tolerances specified.
of workpiece-fixture system non-friction point contact
Various methods on
controlling the manufac- [ 76].
Fixture positioning error has aturing errors have been
direct impact on the machining errorssuggested, for instance,
of a workpiece. In this field, two(1) using stiffness
problems have usually beenoptimized machining
discussed: one is the forwardfixtures (and
problem that involves predicting theconfiguration layout) to
tolerance deviation resulting at aensure the tolerance limit
feature from a known set of errors on specified for the
the locators and another is its inverse
machined part surface [
problem that involves establishing
70];
bounds on the errors of the locators
(2) during the
to ensure that the limits specified by
manufacturing process,
geometric tolerances at a feature are
clamping forces of active
not violated. So the essential
fixtures can be adjusted
problem is how to represent the
according to the FEA
relationship between the machining
analysis result to
error, fixturing error and the
compensate for
deformation of the workpiece-fixture
system. machining errors [ 73], or
Locator positional errors, locator(3) adjust suitable clamp
surface geometric errors, and theforces to generate
workpiece datum geometric errorsadequate contact forces
can result in a localization error ofand pressure distribu-
the workpiece, which in turn yields ation at the contact region
relational form error in a machinedto keep the workpiece in
feature. Fixture positioning error (orposition during
fixel error, by M.Y. Wang) comes machining [ 74].
mainly from three sources. (1) A However, modeling of
variation in the position of a locator is a workpiece-fixture and
a direct contribution to the fixel errorthe manufac-turing
of the locator (Asada and By, 1985;process using
Wang, 2000). The variation is usuallysophisticated FEM is
specified in the locators positionusually affected by sev-
tolerance defined during the fixtureeral basic sources of
design. (2) Another source of fixel error which can lead to
error is the variation in the geometricimproper results:
shape of the locator, such as profile(1) poor input data due to
tolerance specified for a spherical the lack of information
locator. During operation, mechanicalabout the pro-cess, (2)
wear and tear of the locator will also unreasonable
contribute to the fixel error. simplifications,
(3) The third source is related to idealization and assump-
geometric variations that may exist intions of the
the physical datum features of the manufacturing process,
workpiece. The datum geometric(3) improper modeling of
variations will have an equivalentthe boundary conditions,
result of fixel errors in the reference (4) numerical round-off
frame embedded in the workpiece(in solving the si-
body. The primary objective of amultaneous equations),
fixturing scheme is to reduce the (5) discretization error
manufacturing error as related to theand (6) errors asso-
three types of fixel errors that are ciated with re-mapping.
essentially caused by the positional
4. Conclusions and future For instance, an resource for fixture design.
research increasing research Using new technologies in
interest is using various the knowledge engineering
Recent achievements in themeta-heuristic methods field to refine, model and
development of computer aided fixtureto obtain optimal fixture utilize fixture design
design methodologies, systems and domain knowledge as an
layout solutions [ 5861],
applications have been examined in information base for
which often requires
this paper. Various novel papers in the intelligent and automatic
much precise calcula-
computer aided fixture design field systems can assist a
tions in geometry and
have been published in recent years, fixture designer not only by
mechanics. Actually,
up to 2010. However, current design simplifying the design
computer supported
and automation theories and process, but also by
intelligent algorithms can
technologies are still not mature. Most generating design ideas.
have a better
current commercialized fixture design For example, some
performance on this kind
tools in manufacturing are traditionalof interesting progress on
work. Meanwhile,
geometric-based, for instance, thedeploying a multi-sensor using XML technology as
tooling and fixture design functions innetwork into a a fixture knowledge
some CAD systems, e.g., Unigraphicsworkpiece-fixture system representation tool to
and Pro/Engineer, the software byand using online support case-based
some fixture componentsintelligent control reasoning in the fixture
manufacturers, e.g., Bluco Corp.,techniques can adjust design process is
Jergens Inc. They only providefixturing contacts and attractive, despite the
engineers with a fixture componentforces adaptively in a reality that it need more
library or simple modules to do fixture machining process to effort on the sys-
design manually based on some keep an optimal fixture- temization of intelligent
extended functions of commercial CAD techniques in fixture
software. Fixture design still continuesworkpiece situa-tion [
design [ 47, 50].
to be a major bottleneck in the 8486]. That is an
promotion of current manufacturing,important reason for the
though numerous innovative CAFDrapid progress of 4.2. Integrated fixture
techniques have been proposed. Thoseintelligent techniques on
design system for
manufacturing
techniques also need time to be testedfixture design
and evaluated in real manufacturingapplications over the
In essence, fixture
environments and integrated with otherpast years.
Furthermore, recent design only is a partial
product and process design activities.
achievements on some process in manufac-
Therefore, several research aspects
new knowledge-related turing, and it should obey
are promising and challenging.
techniques, such as to the total objective of
knowledge modeling, data workpiece man-
4.1. To develop intelligent techniques
mining, ma-chine learning, ufacturing requirements
for computer aided fixture design and so on, indicate a more which often are related
promising and fruitful with production
It is already recognized that
future for the development resources, equipment,
developing a computerized fixture
design can result in high efficiency,of advanced computer cost and machining
stable accuracy, short set-up time, aided fixture de-sign. In processes, etc. There-
and low cost. But the realmany manufacturing fore, it is necessary to
performance of a computerizedcompanies, the technical put the fixture design
fixture design system is rooted in a knowledge of experienced task into an overall
powerful ability of the sys-tem tofixture designers, a huge manufacturing process to
replace or exceed that which isamount of technical files obtain best fixture design
done manually by a fix-ture designer.and many good design solution.
cases are a very valuable
H. Wang et al. / Computer-Aided Design 42 (2010) 10851094 1093

design in Micro and and future direction.

Many researchers have acceptedNanoma-chining. International Journal of
Production Research
the viewpoint of integration of CAFD Because nanometric 2001;39(13): 286794.
systems with other manufacturingmachining has a very
related technologies, even thoughdifferent phy-sics from
many early researches are very
conventional machining [
limited in obtaining the manufacturing
requirements from and send the87], e.g. in the
result of fixture design to other manufacturing process,
systems, e.g. PDM or PLM systems. material and physical
Future research should emphasizephenomena, existing
the importance of more efficient fixture design
integration of fixture systems with methodologies cannot
other manufacturing systems.handle the meso-scale
Particularly, view the fixture designfixturing problem. With
as one node in a whole chain ofrespect to this, micro and
manufacturing process. So we havenano scale fixturing
to consider the impact of fixture technology ap-pears
design result on the cutting center promising. Additionally,
and machining toolpath, andtrends in manufacturing
meanwhile, we also may find a flexibility and customized
necessary redesign of the fixturesmall production also
solution due to various conditions of suggest more deep
cutting tools, production amount and compar-isons, analysis
cost, etc. and research on the
Another important research is on applications of
the integration of various techniques computerized modular
directly used in computer aided fixtures and dedicated
fixture design. As we know, an fixtures.
optimal fixture solution is a hybrid
result of many differentAcknowledgements
considerations, such as tolerance
configuration, stiffness configuration, The author would like
machining process, etc. Thus moreto thank the anonymous
attention should also be paid on thereferees who made
establishment of a systematic way of valuable comments that
integrating various techniques, suchconsiderably improved
as FEM methods for workpiece-the final paper. We also
fixture system stiffness analysis,gratefully acknowledge
advanced mathematical analysis onthe support from
tolerance design, 3D path planningShanghai Key Lab of
and collision detection analysis onMechanical Automation
the cutting toolpath. & Robot, Shanghai
University.
4.3. Applications in more wide This research is
manufacturing fields supported in part by
National Natural Sci-
It is apparent that almost all theence Foundation of
literature is focused on machining China (Grant U0834002),
fixtures field beside a few on welding the Fundamental Re-
fixture research. This puts a questionsearch Funds for the
of the theoretical value of fixtureCentral Universities in
research in other industrial fields andSouth China University
a more rigid comparative study ofof Technology (Grant
fixture design among those fields and 2009ZM0172 and
the traditional machining field. In fact, 2009ZM0121), and Gov-
besides the traditional machiningernment Research
field, there is a wide usage of fixturesProgram of Guangdong
in other industrial fields, e.g.,Province, China (Grant
welding, assembly. And as we have 2008B010400005).
motioned in Section 2.1, there exist
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