An Efficient Method for Workpiece Locating Error Prediction in Machining Process

Fixtures play a key role in locating workpieces to manufacture high quality products within many processes of the product lifecycle. Inaccuracies in workpiece location lead to errors in position and orientation of machined features on the workpiece, and strongly affect the assemblability and the final quality of the product. The accurate positioning of workpiece on a fixture is influenced by rigid body displacements and rotations of the workpiece. In this paper, a systematic approach is introduced to investigate the located workpiece position errors. A new mathematical formulation of fixture locators modeling is proposed to establish the relationship between the workpiece position error and its sources. Based on the proposed method, the final locating errors of the workpiece can be accurately estimated by relating them to the specific dimensional and geometric errors or tolerances of the workpiece and the related locators. The proposed method is developed for error analysis based on worst case and statistical approaches. The application of the presented method is illustrated through presenting an example and the computational results are compared with the results of simulation of the case study in a CAD/CAM system.