Fixtures are essential to most assembly and machining processes. Their design is vital, as they have a direct effect on productivity, cost and quality. It is estimated that 40 percent of rejected parts stem from inappropriate fixturing.
Most fixtures are designed for a specific part or operation. However, making, storing, retrieving and setting up dedicated fixtures can be costly. Indeed, such fixtures can represent 10 to 20 percent of the total cost of an assembly system. Moreover, dedicated fixtures typically require long lead times to produce. As a result, dedicated fixtures are only feasible for high-volume, low-mix production.