Fixture Design Automation and Optimization Techniques: Review and Future Trends

Fixture design is a crucial part of manufacturing process. Fixture design is a critical design activity inwhich automation plays an integral role in linking computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aidedmanufacturing (CAM). This paper presents a literature review in computer aided fixture design(CAFD) in terms of automation and optimization techniques over the past decades. First, the reasonbehind necessity of automated fixture design is stated. According to the degree of automation, fixturedesign methods are then categorized based on significant works done in the CAFD field. Regarding theneed of automated fixture design systems, optimization techniques, which are mostly used forautomated CAFD methods, are closely considered. The significant optimization techniques are thenstudied in case of applications and working principles. At the end, the current weaknesses of theexisting methods and the research fields, which require deeper studies as future trends are presented aswell.