Research on Irregular-Shaped Workpiece Fixture Based on Electrorheological Fluid
摘要
Although the current computer numerical control (CNC) machine tools on the market are flexible, efficient, and automated, capable of enhancing precision, handling large quantities of components, and processing diverse ordinary parts, they often encounter challenges in positioning, clamping, and stress concentration when fabricating special-shaped structures. In response to these issues, multiple sets of specialized fixtures are usually designed and manufactured according to requirements, which increases the processing cost of irregular-shaped workpieces. Moreover, these specialized fixtures cannot be universally applied, leading to substantial wastage. Therefore, this project utilizes the inherent transformation characteristics of electrorheological (ER) fluid between liquid and solid to achieve rapid automatic clamping. The clamping is fully enveloping, ensuring stable clamping force and minimizing damage to irregular-shaped workpieces. Simultaneously, by combining multi-axis attitude adjustment arms with multiple sets of laser positioning, flexible and precise adjustment of the attitude of irregular-shaped workpieces is achieved. Ultimately, the combination of ER fluid enables the clamping and positioning of any irregular-shaped workpiece.