Aspects of reconfigurable and flexible fixtures

The design and manufacture of fixtures and other dedicated tooling for positioning of workpieces are among the major cost drivers in product industrialization. This has spurred research and commercial interest towards other fixturing solutions like reconfigurable fixtures, with the ability to be changed, or reconfigured, to suit different parts and products. When reconfiguring, the product interface not only has to be moved but moved to a desired position and orientation. Several different approaches have been used to move and position these devices, all with their own advantages and disadvantages. This article presents different methods used to position and reconfigure flexible fixture devices using a parallel kinematic device as a case. Discussing the different ways to reconfigure a flexible device, the article aims to arrange the techniques according to their key features.