A Comparative Study of Chain Clamping Fixture with Other Clamping Methods for Gate Valve Body: Cycle Time and Rigidity Study

Abstract

"Fixture rigidity influences the production rates". In this paper, a comparison and feasibility study is demonstrated to improve the productivity and existing fixture rigidity for machining on a gate valve body by comparing the existing technique i.e. top clamping fixture with other possible clamping methods including newly developed chain clamping fixture. The CAD models of the fixtures are prepared in CATIA V5. The existing fixture concept, clamping methods, cutting parameters and cycle times have been studied and compared with the values of chain clamping fixture obtained by trail out results. Along with the increased production rates, other parameters like tool life, noise and vibration levels and surface roughness values are also improved slightly.