The Main Constructing Stages Of Modular Fixtures

Workholding is one of the least automatic parts in flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) and the bottleneck in production flow. Dedicated fixtures have many advantages of holding workpieces firmly, but high cost, long design period, and long last production time are fatal to the FMS. Recently, modular fixtures have been used to replace dedicated fixtures in FMS for cost saving and quick production reasons. However, designing a modular fixture is not an independent issue. It is in some extent necessary to consider the whole procedure from the beginning to the end. This paper points out the main stages of constructing modular fixtures and how these stages are mutually related.