When designing a flexible automated assembly system, engineers have a number of options for creating fixtures to accommodate more than one product. Obviously, engineers have the option of using different fixturing for each line of products being assembled. However, this solution can be both cumbersome and expensive: cumbersome in that changing over tooling sets can be time- and space-consuming; expensive because tooling costs money. Then there is the challenge of tracking all this loose equipment. Whether it's a disgruntled employee dropping a component in his pocket or an overburdened inventory system, changeout fixturing can be vulnerable to getting lost.
For this reason, automation systems manufacturers have devised a number of strategies for creating flexibility in a single type of fixturing. These include interchangeable inserts; machining multiple nesting options into a single fixture; and creating product components with common location features, so they can all be secured with the same fixture.