Structure Design and Analysis of Reconfigurable Fixture Robot Based on the Auto-body Panels

The fixture is an important equipment, and is widely used in the auto-body panels to be assembled and welded. However, most fixtures, which installed on the production lines, are special to make the production cost higher and the production efficiency lower. Therefore, the reconfigurability of the fixture becomes a key factor that effects the production efficiency of automobiles. To handle the above problems, the new reconfigurable fixture robot is proposed in this paper, which can meet the handing, assembling and welding requirements of different automobile's sheet parts on the automobile production lines. First, the three-dimensional model and the kinematic equations of the proposed reconfigurable fixture robot are established. Then, the working space of the reconfigurable fixture robot is also obtained. Finally, the modal analysis of the reconfigurable fixture robot is performed to determine the cause of resonances. Reconfigurable fixture robots are capable of gripping the auto-body panels with the different radii of curvature, which can also meet the work scopes on the production lines.