×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Assembly Jig Allowable Deflection

Assembly Jig Allowable Deflection

Assembly Jig Allowable Deflection

(OP)
Hello`

I am designing an assembly trolley and determining allowable deflection of the plate as shown in red arrow in the picture (for reference) below.

May I know if there is standard for the allowable deflection? I understand for some beams design, there are rule of L/360 for instance. What about a plate? Thank you!

Replies continue below

Recommended for you

RE: Assembly Jig Allowable Deflection

It depends on how much error will be built in to the finished item and how much error is allowed for the finished item.

Check the tolerances for the item being fixtured.

RE: Assembly Jig Allowable Deflection

I'd say whatever allows you to keep the assembly points positioned within a certain tolerance loaded and unloaded.

RE: Assembly Jig Allowable Deflection

as above, the tool needs to achieve (at least) the tolerances of the installation. For example, I imagine that the plane of the tool was assumed to be that ... a flat plane. I imagine (I'm pretty certain) that points on the part have co-ordinates (like on the airplane), so the tool needs to accomplish these points to their tolerance.

"Hoffen wir mal, dass alles gut geht !"
General Paulus, Nov 1942, outside Stalingrad after the launch of Operation Uranus.

RE: Assembly Jig Allowable Deflection

sarclee,

A crude rule of thumb for fixtures is that they must be ten times as accurate as the tolerances they are maintaining. If the fixture is flexible, the deflection in use should not exceed a tenth of the fixture tolerance. All sheets, plates, and plywood sheets are flexible.

--
JHG

RE: Assembly Jig Allowable Deflection

Your fixture looks problematic.

The plate seems to be the sole provider of "plate" stiffness to the worktable surface.
Imagine the weight of the workpiece pushing down on this fixture. The legs are on wheels, therefore free to spread out. Each leg spreads away from the centroid. That applies a moment where each leg is attached to the table surface.
Any workpiece weight will deform the table making its top surface concave.

I think I might see a tiny little horizontal surface a few inches below the worktable surface - that is completely inadequate to resist the spreading of the legs.

To fix your problem, put a plate between the caster and the leg, spanning between all of the legs. This will prevent them from spreading and increase the stiffness of your fixture by about 10x.

Next...

How flat is the floor of your shop?

RE: Assembly Jig Allowable Deflection

If the jib is only just able to make the part within tolerance that means everything else needs to be perfect every time.

I would 2nd sparwebs comments except that I would make a square support out of box section rather than adding more plate. Do consider what happens when the techs push it flat out down the facility and it comes to a sudden stop due to a bolt jam under the wheel.

RE: Assembly Jig Allowable Deflection

I can't understand why so many people ask "What standard controls my special situation?"

As others have already pointed out, it's your product being assembled on your jig. Therefore, it's your job to design the fixture so that your product works the way it's supposed to.

RE: Assembly Jig Allowable Deflection

Quote:

May I know if there is standard for the allowable deflection? I understand for some beams design, there are rule of L/360 for instance. What about a plate? Thank you!

Ask your designer what the assembly error budget is; the as-built product design should have a build tolerance that includes fabrication and assembly tolerances.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers Entire Forum list http://www.eng-tips.com/forumlist.cfm

RE: Assembly Jig Allowable Deflection

there should be a required tolerance of several control or datum points, to ensure the item fits in the plane as intended.

"Hoffen wir mal, dass alles gut geht !"
General Paulus, Nov 1942, outside Stalingrad after the launch of Operation Uranus.

RE: Assembly Jig Allowable Deflection

L/360 is to keep the drywall/plaster ceiling from cracking, I think.

Are all those green angle bracket part of the fixture?
How accurate will their lengths be controlled ?
A couple are offset with clamps. I'm thinking they will look

Is the pink item a monolithic component ? How accurate will all the interfaces with green brackets be?
How stiff stiff is the flange on the pink item? Are you expecting the fixture to position all the flange sections to be co-planar for the assembly process?

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members! Already a Member? Login



News


Close Box

Join Eng-Tips® Today!

Join your peers on the Internet's largest technical engineering professional community.
It's easy to join and it's free.

Here's Why Members Love Eng-Tips Forums:

Register now while it's still free!

Already a member? Close this window and log in.

Join Us             Close