This paper focuses on a technical problem involved in automated fixture planning, that is, the accessibility analysis of a fixturing surface. The fixture surface accessibility should be correctly assessed to reflect the extent of ease to place a fixture component in contact with the fixturing surface. First, several basic criteria for evaluating the eligibility of a surface being a preliminary candidate fixturing surface are discussed. Second, by applying a discretization technique, an accessibility model of fixturing surfaces is established based on an overall evaluation of the accessibility of discrete points on the surface. Finally, an analysis and design example is presented.
| Number of Pages : | 6 |
| Published : | 11/01/1998 |
