Title: Optimum design selection of jigs/fixtures using digraph and matrix methods

Authors: V. Paramasivam, K.P. Padmanaban, V. Senthil

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, PSNA College of Engineering and Technology, Dindigul-22, Tamilnadu, India. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, PSNA College of Engineering and Technology, Dindigul-22, Tamilnadu, India. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Coimbatore Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India

Abstract: Jigs/fixtures play a vital role in manufacturing industries. The variation of product configuration requires design and development of newer jigs/fixtures. Design of jigs/fixtures is dependent on many factors which lead to many designs for the same component and hence the optimum design has to be selected. This paper provides a digraph and matrix method, which is a simple and efficient methodology to select the optimum jig/fixture. A digraph model is constructed by considering all features which characterise the jigs/fixtures. In this model, the attributes and the relationship between the attributes are represented by nodes and edges respectively. The same model is represented by one to one equivalent matrix called design selection permanent matrix (DSPM). A design selection index (DSI) is evaluated from the design selection permanent function (DSPF), which is developed from the matrix. The indices obtained for different designs are compared and the best jig/fixture is selected based on higher numerical value of DSI. A step-by-step procedure is explained by means of an example.

Keywords: jigs; fixtures; digraph models; matrix; design selection index; DSI; jig design; fixture design.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMTM.2010.032906

International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management, 2010 Vol.20 No.1/2/3/4, pp.358 - 371

Published online: 05 May 2010 *

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