Fixture Design Automation and Optimization Techniques: Review and Future Trends

Fixture design is a crucial part of manufacturing process. Fixture design is a critical design activity in which automation plays an integral role in linking computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM). This paper presents a literature review in computer aided fixture design (CAFD) in terms of automation and optimization techniques over the past decades. First, the reason behind necessity of automated fixture design is stated. According to the degree of automation, fixture design methods are then categorized based on significant works done in the CAFD field. Regarding the need of automated fixture design systems, optimization techniques, which are mostly used for automated CAFD methods, are closely considered. The significant optimization techniques are then studied in case of applications and working principles. At the end, the current weaknesses of the existing methods and the research fields, which require deeper studies as future trends are presented as well.