An intelligent fixture design method based on smart modular fixture unit

Fixture is an important assisting resource for manufacturing. Its design is under the combined influence of workpiece, machining methods, material performances, etc. and demands rich experience of the designer, which leads to significant increase in design cycle and costs. This paper researches on a new automatic fixture design methodology based on inheriting and reusing design knowledge. Traditional fixture model is changed to smart fixture model, which is not only a geometric model but also appending geometric knowledge, process planning knowledge, and performance knowledge. On the other hand, the ontology of workpiece's machining requirement is established for driving smart fixture automatically. Based on the above ontology, the self-selection reasoning method is proposed, for machining planner, which can push unit selection scope and drive its size actively. To drive fixture unit assembly automatically, the self-assembly reasoning method is proposed according to typical feature's assembly mode. By these ways, the geometric consistency among units as well as unit/workpiece is maintained. In the end, design efficiency and quality is expected to be improved more automatically.