Prodtex to unveil fixturing innovations at AMAF

Prodtex, a specialist in manufacturing processes, tooling and fixturing, will unveil its latest innovations in fixturing at SAE’s Aerospace Manufacturing and Automated Fastening (AMAF) Conference & Exhibition in Bremen from the 4-6 of October.

The fixture employs the patent-protected, steel-based Boxjoint system which is just one of Prodtex’s suite of reconfigurable tools. As well as exhibiting, Prodtex will give a presentation on how this tooling can make the aircraft production lines of the future more efficient and more effective using Hexapod robots and the company’s suite of tools, including Shimbox and TFS.

Peter Helgosson, director of Prodtex UK, said: “Reconfigurable or adaptive tooling allows for the rapid reconfiguration of fixtures, either automatically or manually. As aircraft manufacturers continually seek improvements in productivity, these tools deliver huge cost and time savings.”

Andy Silcox, the Manufacturing Technology Centre’s Technical Specialist (Assembly Systems) said: “The Prodtex range of innovative tooling solutions delivers the ability to rapidly re-configure tools and fixtures to adapt to multiple products, fluctuating build rates and variability in the condition of supply of sub component parts. This offers huge potential to increase the efficiency of assembly operations.”

There are many benefits in using these flexible systems:

• Increases cost efficiency through the re-use of fixture components on many projects


• Reduces fixture design lead times due to the use of dedicated design apps


• Removes the limitations of traditional fixture design which requires component geometry and datum's to be locked months in advance of manufacture


• Cuts fixture build lead times due to the use of off the shelf modular components


• Facilitates single piece flow on multi product processes.

This conference and presentation follows swiftly on the heels of completion of the €33M EU Locomachs aerospace project, where Prodtex played a key role in the successful delivery of a virtual full scale assembly line to build wings in a leaner, quicker and more cost effective manner, utilising the company’s 3D modelling, robotics and assembly line expertise.

Prodtex also has a partnership agreement with Dassault Systèmes, and markets and sells its product portfolio DELMIA V5 and the new platform 3DEXPERIENCE in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. It has recently signed a contract to act as a re-seller in the UK.

www.prodtex.com