Design and production of fixtures for free-form components using selective laser sintering

Purpose – To introduce an innovative method for the design of supporting elements to be applied to the free-form components during the dimensional control. Design/methodology/approach – This paper shows an innovative procedure based on reverse engineering and rapid prototyping techniques for the realization of fixtures fitting the geometry of free-form elements. The application of the procedure have been made on a sheet metal free-form element. After the design and manufacturing of the supporting elements, some uniformly distributed measurements have been made on the sheet metal component. A coordinate measuring machine (CMM) has been used in order to get dimensional information and to give the IT class location of the component. Findings – The use of the CMMs for the dimensional control of the production elements requires the availability of an adequate supporting system above all if the control concerns free-form components with complex forms. This influences considerably the final quality of the measurements mainly if the control concerns free-form components with complex forms, not bound to classic geometric entities. The supporting systems commonly used foresee the utilization of standard elements (clamps, magnets, suction cups and plates and others) ideal for the parts with regular geometry but that can cause inconveniences if applied to free-form elements and long times for the part supporting. The supporting elements of our paper fit to the geometry of free-form component. Research limitations/implications – For the production of the supporting elements, the chosen technique has been the selective laser sintering with the use of the Pa-Al powders (alumide). This material has a limited mechanical resistance such to guarantee a control up to 500 parts. For this reason, in a future research we would produce these fixtures using sintered metal materials. Practical implications – The possibility to guarantee a correct dimensional control in the case of free form components using fixtures that fit to the geometry of free form components. Originality/value – The paper shows an innovative procedure to get fixturing elements that fit to the geometry of free-form component and provide stability and immobility to the component during the inspection phase.