Title
A geometric approach to automated fixture layout design
Abstract
Fixtures are used in many manufacturing processes to hold objects. Fixture layout design is to arrange fixturing elements (fixels) on the object surface such that the object can be held in form-closure and totally immobilized. It is well known that 4/7 fixels are sufficient for immobilizing a 2D/3D object without rotational symmetry and their locations satisfy form-closure if and only if the convex hull of their primitive wrenches forms a 3D/6D simplex in the wrench space containing the origin as an interior point. This paper presents a method for finding form-closure locations of 4/7 fixels with enhanced immobilization capability. First, the Gilbert-Johnson-Keerthi distance algorithm and the Gram-Schmidt process are used to yield the fixel locations such that the simplex with vertices at their primitive wrenches is 3D/6D and contains the origin. Then, an interchange algorithm is developed for altering the fixel locations to meet form-closure and increase an immobilization capability index of fixture layouts. The meanings of this index in fixture localization accuracy and force balance capability are elucidated as well. Its value is proved to be equal to the minimum distance from the wrench origin to the facets of the wrench simplex in terms of a unit-invariant norm for wrench vectors. Without using any general optimization techniques, this method determines an optimal fixture layout very efficiently, so that it can be tried with various initial conditions to attain a result approaching the global optimum or with other good performance qualities.
Year
DOI
Venue
2010
10.1016/j.cad.2009.10.002
Computer-Aided Design
Keywords
Field
DocType
optimal fixture layout,fixture layout,form-closure location,covering simplex,distance,geometric approach,wrench simplex,localization accuracy,wrench origin,immobilization capability,automated fixture layout design,wrench space,fixture layout design,primitive wrench,fixel location,form-closure,fixture localization accuracy
Rotational symmetry,Mathematical optimization,Page layout,Fixture,Convex hull,Simplex,Wrench,Process capability index,Interior point method,Mathematics
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
42
3
Computer-Aided Design
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
6
0.52
25
Authors
2
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Yu Zheng115711.61
Chee-Meng Chew237540.58