Tooling Base With Threaded Rod Stops
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tooling bases for machining are complex and difficult to manufacture, requiring many precision parts and multiple surfaces for precise registration, making them challenging to produce and adapt for various tooling fixtures while maintaining registration accuracy.
Innovation Solution
A simplified tooling base design using clamping fixtures on threaded rods with restricted movement by stops, allowing for fewer parts and easier manufacturing, while maintaining precise registration through alignment studs and tooling holes, enabling easy attachment and detachment of tooling fixtures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If traditional tooling bases use multiple precision parts and complex clamping mechanisms to ensure precise registration, then registration accuracy is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple functions into fewer components. The clamping mechanism integrates the clamping action and positioning function into a single mechanism that uses the fixture's own alignment features rather than requiring separate precision alignment components. This merging reduces the number of precision parts while maintaining registration accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The tooling base is designed with universal alignment features (alignment studs and holes) that work with various types of fixtures. The clamping mechanism universally engages with alignment features on different fixtures, allowing the same base design to accommodate multiple fixture types while maintaining precise registration without requiring fixture-specific precision components.
2Manufacturing precision
If traditional tooling bases use multiple precision surfaces and parts for clamping and registration, then precise registration is maintained, but ease of manufacture deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs simpler, less expensive components that don't require extensive precision machining. The clamping mechanism uses standard threaded rods and fixtures with basic alignment features rather than expensive precision-ground components. This approach maintains adequate registration accuracy while significantly improving ease of manufacture.
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment and clamping functions are segmented into distinct simple components: alignment studs protruding from the base, alignment holes in fixtures, and separate clamping mechanisms. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured independently with standard tolerances rather than requiring complex multi-surface precision machining of integrated components.
3Manufacturing precision
If traditional tooling bases use complex internal designs with multiple precision parts, then precise registration is achieved, but adaptability to different fixtures deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The tooling base employs universal alignment studs and holes that can accommodate various fixture types. The clamping mechanism is designed to work with different fixture configurations while maintaining consistent registration accuracy, allowing the same base to adapt to multiple fixture designs without requiring fixture-specific precision components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent allows for variation in fixture parameters (different fixture sizes, shapes, and configurations) while maintaining constant registration accuracy through the standardized alignment stud and hole system. The clamping force and alignment tolerances are parameterized to accommodate different fixture types, enabling versatility without sacrificing precision.
Data Source
AI summary
A tooling base that is an improvement over current designs in the form of simplified number of parts and easier manufacturing of parts is described. The tooling base uses alignment fixtures on threaded rods that are restricted in their movement within the tooling base by stops. The stops are located either on the threaded shafts or on the alignment fixtures. This allowed degree of movement enables simplified part design and manufacture while maintaining the precision and accuracy of registration of a tooling fixture with the tooling base.