Reconfigurable Tooling addresses the challenges of traditional welded tooling by eliminating the costly design and fabrication of welded structures and provides a very stable tool that can be used in Assembly, Welding and Machining operations, yet maintains flexibility to allow for changes to be made without reconstructing the entire tool. The tooling can accommoDate: changes in design, reducing the time and cost required to manufacture complex aerospace components.
Reconfigurable Tooling is an arrangement of beams and joints, which together forms a flexible, configurable framework without weldments. The framework is set to a loose tolerance facilitating a quick assembly process and the use of standard low-cost beams. The final accurate interface between the jig and the component is achieved through adjustable components. Laser metrology is used to quickly measure and adjust the position of the jig beams, and reconfigurable components. These fixtures these can be reused again and again. They can be quickly reconfigured to design changes at any time, and also be disassembled/reassembled for transportation and/or storage.
Reconfigurable Tooling has been successfully applied in most of the manufacturing sectors and is being used for Tooling, component transportation carts, work platforms and other applications that typically use welded assemblies.
