Computer-Implemented System And Method For Synthesizing A Fixture Layout For A Part To Be Manufactured

A computer-implemented system for synthesizing a fixture layout for a part to be manufactured, comprising:

• a potential configuration comprising a plurality of locations on the boundary of the part against which to contact a plurality of fixture elements configured to be affixed to a base plate;
• a determination module to determine a collision free region about each of the locations comprising basis vectors and collision free distances along each of the basis vectors;
• a part definition module to define a part envelope comprising a geometric representation of a region defined about the boundary of the part;
• a part identification module to identify a part clearance needed by each of the fixture elements to avoid interference with the part envelope when affixed to the base plate;
• a catalog comprising a multiplicity of fixture elements specific to a manufacturing facility and configurable to fixture the part;
• a filter module to filter each candidate fixture element listed in the catalog that exceeds the part clearance in at least one dimension of the candidate fixture element, and to remove from further consideration the filtered candidate fixture elements;
• a transformation computation module to compute, for each of the candidate fixture elements listed in the catalog and not filtered, a transformation between the part and the base plate, and to align the part with the base plate by the transformation;
• and
• an elimination module to eliminate both the candidate fixture elements that are listed in the catalog and not filtered and attachment points of those candidate filter elements to the base plate, which are situated where that fixture element would overlap with another of the remaining fixture elements, the candidate fixture elements and their attachment points remaining after overlap elimination comprising a fixture layout.