Challenge

Week 5:- Rest Unit & Clamp Unit Design Challenge

PPawan Yadav2 Jul 2023

Week 5:- Rest Unit & Clamp Unit Design Challenge

Objective:

Design 3 Different types of Power Clamp Unit with Different Riser, Blade and Clamp Arm for the given Car Panel.

Design 2 Different types of Rest Unit for the given Car Panel.

Rest Unit

Rest unit is unit designed to support car panel using Mylar/ NC block/ rest component is rested only, no upper clamp or force applied there. It is the simplest unit to design because it has fewer parts to design & the purpose is only resting of the car panel.
Because of the simplicity the rest unit is combined with other unit to reduce the cost of the overall project.
It can be combined with clamp unit to clamp as well as to rest the car panel. It can be combined with locating unit to locate as well as to rest the car panel. Also locating, clamping & Test unit can be combined together in one unit to reduce cost.
There is no cylinder attached to it. It has rest Mylar, blade and riser & below is different parts of rest unit. Rest unit is also divided into simple support unit, multiple support units & retractable support unit.

Clamp Unit

A clamp unit is a unit designed to clamp/hold the car panel with NC Blocks/Mylar/Rest by using a pneumatic clamp cylinder.

A clamp unit is a unit designed to clamp/hold the car panel with NC blocks/Mylars/rest by using a pneumatic cylinder. Clamp arm, finger, Rest/backup, L-block, shims, riser, pneumatic cylinders are the typical parts of clamp unit.
Clamping force should be considered while designing clamp unit. Usually clamp open position is 90 .Fingers are attached to clamp Mylar.
In Clamp unit shim to one side is more enough because it will restrict translation motion in upward direction and downward direction only.
There is another type of clamp unit known as swivel type. There is pivot pin around which clamp arm rotate.

Parts of Clamp Unit

Finger:

A finger is a NC Block, which is mounted on the clamp Arm of the cylinder. And will press the car panel towards the rest, So that it holds the car panel.

Rest:

A rest is a NC Block, which is fixed to the unit to support the car panel. Also, it resists the clamping force of the finger and thus clamp the car panel.

Purpose

Alignment and positioning: Rest Units are strategically placed to ensure proper alignment and positioning of body parts. They provide contact points or supports that correspond to specific features or reference points on the body parts, helping maintain the desired spatial relationship between components.

Preventing distortion: Rest Units help prevent unwanted movement or distortion of body parts during the welding or assembly processes. By providing additional support or contact points, they help distribute forces evenly and minimize the risk of deformation or misalignment.

Clamp Arm:

A clamp arm is a brought out part, to which all the movable parts are fixed. In general a clamp arm is a part of clamp cylinder.

Clamp arms are different for different bore of the cylinder
Clamps arms are available in different hole pitch
Clamp arms are available as:
- Middle Arm- A10
- Right Arm- A11
- Left Arm- A12

Purpose

Fixing and securing: Clamp Units are responsible for firmly holding the body parts in place within the fixture. They apply clamping force to hold the parts tightly together, ensuring stability and preventing any movement during welding or assembly operations.

Achieving proper fitment: Clamp Units help achieve the desired fitment between body parts. They exert force to close any gaps or tolerances between the components, ensuring that they are tightly joined together.

Clamp Cylinder:

A clamp cylinder is a pneumatic device works with pressurized air. The clamp cylinder is used to open and close the parts fixed to the clamp arm fixed to the clamp body.

Clamp cylinders are bought out parts. Some of the manufacturers are: Tunkers and Destaco
Clamp cylinders are in general 40, 50, 63 and 80 bore capacity.
Opens up to 135° for horizontal clamp mounting.
Opens up to 105° for vertical clamp mounting.

Design Procedure:

Input Model