Design and Fabrication of Combination Fixture for Reducing Production Time in Pump Manufacturing
- April 3, 2019
- Posted by: RSIS
- Category: Mechanical Engineering
International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI) | Volume VI, Issue III, March 2019 | ISSN 2321–2705
Design and Fabrication of Combination Fixture for Reducing Production Time in Pump Manufacturing
D. Anandakumar1, V. Saravanan2 and S.A Vasudevan3
1,2,3Department of Mechanical Engineering, EASA College of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore – 641105, Tamil Nadu, India
Abstract—In most of pump manufacturing industries, three fixtures are used for performing machining operations like milling, drilling and tapping on the components such as rear cover, front cover, suction bracket and casing. They lead to increase loading time, setting time, machining time and unloading time. To reduce the production time significantly, the three fixtures are replaced by a single fixture in this present work. The new fixture and supporting plates have been designed with the help of SOLID WORKS software. By means of this fixture, total production time is reduced to 78.6% and hence production rate is also improved significantly.
Keywords—Casing, Suction bracket, Combination fixture, Production time, Production rate
I. INTRODUCTION
Fixture is a part of a machine which holds the work piece during operation with various technical and special arrangements. It is developed with various principles based on the machine, type of component and machining parameters like feed, speed and depth of cut. It is a device for locating, holding and supporting a work piece during a manufacturing operation. It is designed for applications where the cutting tools cannot be guided as easily as a drill. It can be used in almost any operation that requires a precise relationship in the position of a tool to a work piece. Fixtures are essential elements of production processes as they are required in most of the automated manufacturing, inspection, and assembly operations [1-4].
Modern era production demands computer operated machine tools for higher production reliability and accuracy [5-6]. It necessitates the use of jigs and fixture for easy loading and unloading of work piece hence saving time to increase the productivity. Jigs are used for directing tool in correct position and fixture normally mounted on machine table provide secure locating and supporting work piece during machining operation [7]. Locating refers to dimensional and positional relationship between work piece and cutting tool. Various forces acting upon work piece during machining operation demands clamping in position once work piece is correctly located.
