TY - JOUR
T1 - Methodology for reconfigurable fixture architecture design
AU - Bejlegaard, Mads
AU - ElMaraghy, Waguih
AU - Brunø, Thomas Ditlev
AU - Andersen, Ann-Louise
AU - Nielsen, Kjeld
PY - 2018/11/1
Y1 - 2018/11/1
N2 - A reconfigurable fixture is an important enabler to cope with increasing product variety and shorter lifecycles, since it helps to change between product variants more efficiently and reduces the time and resource usage for introduction of new product variants. For fixtures to be reconfigurable, they must be designed to accommodate a family in a single fixture that can be efficiently converted to different product variants, while also being designed for rapid introduction of new products since product families are dynamic and evolve over time. This brings some critical issues to the design phase of the reconfigurable fixture, regarding the frequency of reconfigurations, the time spent on reconfigurations, and the time and resources spent on introducing new products. However, reconfigurable fixture architecture design is not addressed in existing literature. Therefore, this paper proposes a generic architecture design methodology for the design of reconfigurable fixtures. A method developed for reconfigurable manufacturing systems design has been adapted for the design of reconfigurable fixtures. The method is validated by applying it on an industrial welding task, allowing the assembly of 14 different sub-components in one single reconfigurable fixture, which previously required six different fixtures for the same tasks. This demonstrates the validity of the proposed methodology by illustrating the changeability of the new, improved, and redesigned modular fixture.
AB - A reconfigurable fixture is an important enabler to cope with increasing product variety and shorter lifecycles, since it helps to change between product variants more efficiently and reduces the time and resource usage for introduction of new product variants. For fixtures to be reconfigurable, they must be designed to accommodate a family in a single fixture that can be efficiently converted to different product variants, while also being designed for rapid introduction of new products since product families are dynamic and evolve over time. This brings some critical issues to the design phase of the reconfigurable fixture, regarding the frequency of reconfigurations, the time spent on reconfigurations, and the time and resources spent on introducing new products. However, reconfigurable fixture architecture design is not addressed in existing literature. Therefore, this paper proposes a generic architecture design methodology for the design of reconfigurable fixtures. A method developed for reconfigurable manufacturing systems design has been adapted for the design of reconfigurable fixtures. The method is validated by applying it on an industrial welding task, allowing the assembly of 14 different sub-components in one single reconfigurable fixture, which previously required six different fixtures for the same tasks. This demonstrates the validity of the proposed methodology by illustrating the changeability of the new, improved, and redesigned modular fixture.
KW - Changeability
KW - Design
KW - Design method
KW - Fixture
KW - Methodology
KW - Modular design
KW - Reconfiguration
KW - Reuse
KW - Synthesis
KW - System architecture
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85048857051&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.cirpj.2018.05.001
DO - 10.1016/j.cirpj.2018.05.001
M3 - Journal article
SN - 1755-5817
VL - 23
SP - 172
EP - 186
JO - CIRP Journal of Manufacturing Science and Technology
JF - CIRP Journal of Manufacturing Science and Technology
ER -