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2010
Conference Paper
Titel
Adaptive fixture for thin walled aerospace parts using FE analysis
Abstract
Fixtures locate and hold workpieces during manufacturing. Due to the dimensional and geometrical tolerances of workpieces and fixture elements errors may occur. The clamped workpiece will consequently have position and/or orientation errors influencing the accuracy of the final machined part. It is estimated that fixture could constitute 10-20% of the total manufacturing cost. Fixture systems must satisfy two - unfortunately opposite acting - requirements: -to provide relatively high clamping forces in order to guarantee sufficient stiffness and minimum deflection due to machining forces, and -to reduce as much as possible workpiece deflection and deformations as well as strains induced in the workpiece in order to avoid inaccuracy after strain recovery. In this paper a novel active adaptive fixture, based on piezoelectric actuators is presented, applicable to different industrial applications. As an example a case study, machining of a Nozzle Guide Vane (NGV) for aerospace engines, is investigated. The design and the expected behaviour of the developed fixture during clamping and due to machining forces were supported by modelling with the Finite Element Method (FEM). Poster 879 The paper describes the novel concept of the clamping device and the related FE analysis. The presented work is part of the EU integrated and collaborative project "Aligning, Holding and Fixing Flexible and Difficult to Handle Components (AFFIX)".