Title: Fixture assembly planning in a web-based collaborative environment

Authors: Xiumei Kang, Qingjin Peng

Addresses: Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Manitoba, 15 Gillson Street, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 5V6, Canada. ' Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Manitoba, 15 Gillson Street, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 5V6, Canada

Abstract: Collaboration is essential for enterprises| survival in today|s competitive global market. Web-based environments enable designers to communicate and perform functionalities with their geographically distributed partners. Although much research has been conducted in fixture design theory and verification, little attention was paid to fixture assembly planning in a distributed collaborative environment. Fixture assembly planning is subject to geometrical and functional constraints related to the fixture in a working environment. This paper presents a fastener based geometrical approach to fixture assembly planning in a distributed environment. The topological disassemblability of fixture elements and fasteners, the assembly tool feasibility, and fixture functionality are analysed based on geometrical constraints. The developed system is implemented in a three-tier client/server architecture. The example demonstrates the developed system.

Keywords: fixture assembly; assembly planning; computer-aided fixture design; CAFD; tool feasibility analysis; virtual manufacturing; web-based systems; collaboration; fasteners; geometrical constraints; fixtures; disassembly.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIMS.2008.019632

International Journal of Internet Manufacturing and Services, 2008 Vol.1 No.2, pp.176 - 193

Published online: 17 Jul 2008 *

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