A novel priority-number-system-based approach to locator configuration formulization for fixture design

Fixture design plays an important role at the planning stage before shop-floor production. A desired fixture design can be employed to hold the workpart securely so that slippage and excessive deformation can be prevented during machining. Therefore, appropriate fixturing contributes highly to machining quality. To reduce lead time and the human effort devoted to fixture planning, it is significant to research computer aided fixture design (CAFD) technology and system. However, feasible fixture element database is important to efficiently develop CAFD system. This paper deep investigates the fixture locator configuration and its corresponding dimensions. Thus, a priority-number-system-based method is proposed to formulate the function relationship among all dimensions. This research work can supply the theoretical basis to realize automated fixture design (AFD).