What
types of parts are good candidates for modular fixturing?
Almost anything. First developed by a German toolmaker
in the mid 1970's, Bluco's fixturing concept remains
simple: provide a system with relatively few elements
that are extremely flexible to fixture virtually
any part at any time, quickly, easily and accurately.
Machining
fixtures need to be both rugged and accurate to
meet the demands of today's machining centers. Bluco's
modular fixturing offers the best of both worlds.
All baseplates, cubes and angles are made of cast
iron for excellent vibration dampening. Each element
of the system has an alternating pattern of tapped
holes and accurately located precision steel bushings.
The bushings are located +/-0.0004 over 20".
There
are three options to choose from when you get a
new part to run. You can build an open setup which
eats up a lot of machine time and may be difficult
to repeat. You can build a dedicated fixture which
eats up a lot of lead time (average 6 weeks). Or,
you can build a modular fixture in 4 hours or less
and accurately repeat the setup any time you want.
For short runs, the choice is easy; modular fixturing
wins, hands down.
Floor
space is at a premium in most shops. Many fixtures
are saved for spare parts. Chances are these fixtures
were built for machines long since gone. A single
modular fixturing kit neatly organized in a few
cabinet drawers can easily replace 100's of these
old fixtures saving valuable space and precious
time. When a fixture is needed, simply pull out
a setup drawing, a CAD file or a picture and gather
the modular components. In under a half hour, your
machine will be up and running.
A
major manufacturer of construction machinery compared
the results of machining a complex part on a dedicated
fixture and on a modular fixture. There was no statistical
difference in the output quality when using modular
fixturing. You can enjoy the benefits of modular
fixturing with no sacrifice in quality. Lower costs,
faster response, and greater flexibility are hard
to beat!
