Fixture Design Process Automation for Coordinate Measuring Machines: A Knowledge-Based Approach

Nowadays, the inspection process is an essential part of the manufacturing process, where a product is subjected to verification of the geometric features, dimensions and tolerance specifications with respect to the product design specifications. One of the most interesting topics in the automation of the inspection process is the right fixture design. In the fixture design process we have used the information provided by the part design and manufacturing process. However, the lack of integration and structuring of this information results in one of the most important problems, producing an increase in the time and cost implied in the development of the fixture design and its implementation. For this reason, this work presents a knowledge model for the inspection fixture design process for a Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM), which allows the automation of the inspection fixture design process to be made easier, reducing time and cost associated to the inspection process and to the manufacturing process in general.