#4 Today’s Motor Vehicles’ Best of 2021: Ask the expert Questions with Bob Kuzner

Manufacturing engineers understand that following the 3-2-1 method for locating a part establishes three mutually perpendicular datum planes. Three points are needed to establish the primary plane, two points for the secondary plane, and one point for the tertiary plane. But when it comes to designing a robust process in a high-volume or automated production environment, there are some key points that’ll make your operation trouble free with greater reliability.

1. HOW DO I KEEP CHIPS FROM NESTING AND ACCUMULATING ON THE FIXTURE?

In high-volume production, chips can pile up. This is why it’s important to design proper chip shedding on fixtures by eliminating flat shelves and creating sloped surfaces to provide a path for chips to flow inside the work zone. External hydraulic tubing on the fixture can also cause chips to get hung up. To prevent this, gun drill the fixtures and use a manifold to internally plumb the hydraulic lines needed for the fixture actuation.

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