The fixture shown is
used for assembling fork
lift components. Capable
of rotating through 360°
and being lifted to a
height of almost 2
metres, the design had
to address several key
issues.
Spanning over 3.5 M
in length and almost 1.5
M wide, structurally,
the fixture needed to
support a combined mass
of almost 4 Tonnes. This
mass needed to be
balanced to minimise the
forces involved in
rotating and lifting the
tool and assembly.
The fixture needed
to fit an existing
motorised trunnion,
which needed to be
surveyed and up-rated to
accommodate not only the
change in mass – but
also advances in health
and safety legislation,
such as CE marking.
Operation of the
fixture had to be
‘mistake proofed’ as far
as possible, with the
rotation and lifting
operations being
inter-connected to
ensure rotation was
limited in accordance
with the working height.
The fixture needed
to be capable of
allowing a robot full
access around the
component parts – while
missing all projections,
such as clamp arms.
