Fixtures are tools used to hold parts in specific positions and orientations so that certain manufacturing steps can be carried out within required accuracies. Despite the importance of fixtures in the production of expensive devices at Sandia National Laboratories, there is little in-house expertise in mathematical design issues associated with fixtures. As a result, fixtures typically do not work as intended when they are first manufactured. Thus, an inefficient and expensive trial-and-error approach must be utilized. This design methodology adversely impacts important mission duties of Sandia National Laboratories, such as the production of neutron generators. The work performed under the support of this LDRD project took steps toward providing mechanical designers with software tools based on rigorous analytical techniques for dealing with fixture stability and tolerance stack-up.
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