Title: Development of a computer-aided fixture design system for lightweight grippers in the automotive industry

Authors: Damien Motte; Håkan Petersson; Martin Eriksson; Robert Bjärnemo

Addresses: Division of Machine Design, Department of Design Sciences LTH, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden ' School of Business, Engineering and Science, Halmstad University, P.O. Box 823, SE-301 18 Halmstad, Sweden ' Division of Machine Design, Department of Design Sciences LTH, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden ' Division of Machine Design, Department of Design Sciences LTH, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden

Abstract: The need for dedicated fixtures for flexible manufacturing systems is increasing, as dedicated fixtures are lighter, more compact, and more accurate than flexible fixtures. The main challenges are that parts and processes are becoming more and more complex, which requires designing novel or complex dedicated fixtures, and that, for one given flexible fixture to be replaced, several variants of such dedicated fixtures must be designed to hold a variety of individual parts, without causing increased costs and delays. The systematic fixture design method and computer-aided fixture design system (CAFDS) developed and applied for the presented industrial case - novel design of a lightweight (carbon fibre composite) robot gripper - is a possible approach to addressing these issues.

Keywords: computer-aided fixture design; CAFD; dedicated fixtures; end-of-arm tools; flexible manufacturing systems; FMS; knowledge-based engineering; lightweight grippers; automotive fixturing; automobile industry; carbon fibre composites; robot grippers.

DOI: 10.1504/IJDE.2016.079032

International Journal of Design Engineering, 2016 Vol.6 No.3, pp.237 - 261

Received: 19 Jul 2015
Accepted: 08 May 2016
Published online: 09 Sep 2016 *

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