A Rapid Reconfiguration Method of Modular Fixtures Based on Flexible Manufacturing Equipment

Abstract

The fixture system of the flexible manufacturing equipment needs to be changed dynamically for the production of many different kinds of products in small batches; traditional rigid fixtures are not suitable for this purpose because of a long disassembly-and-assembly cycle time, and they also have poor interface adaptability. A way to quickly move the modular fixtures is proposed in this paper, and the three parts of the study are the architectural mechanism, interface characterisation and decision-making and regulation. First, determine the reasons for changing the arrangement of fixtures in flexible manufacturing; then introduce the idea of self-similar hierarchical decomposition; finally explain the spatiotemporal coupling characteristics of the reconfiguration process. Second, the periodically added interfaces have been separated in terms of geometry and mechanics; thus, a modular coded representation and a method for parametric modelling have been introduced, and a rule-matching algorithm for reconfiguration has also been developed. Finally, a heuristic search framework for reconfiguration paths has been put forward, the convergence analysis of this framework has been carried out, the response mechanism of rigid-flexible coupling during transient switching has been explained, and the optimisation objectives for reconfiguration schemes under all kinds of constraints have been listed. The above way can offer some theoretical support and technical ideas for the development of fixture systems in flexible production.