LICENSING OPPORTUNITY OPTIMAL FIXTURE DESIGN CODES The Intelligent System Principles Department of Sandia National Laboratories is seeking one or more licensees for Optimal Fixture Design codes that it has developed. These codes systematically produce all possible fixture designs for a particular application, score the designs, and then return a sorted list of fixture designs for use in building the fixture. The program input includes the shape of the part as well as access regions which must remain clear so that operations on the part (e.g., surface finishing or drilling) are not obstructed. The program also accepts a description of a modular fixture kit comprised of a fixture plate, cylindrical locators, and modular clamping elements. The program then generates all possible fixture designs that hold the part while remaining clear of the specified access regions. The program may be given an arbitrary quality function for scoring the fixtures; a default function is provided that assigns high scores to fixtures which exert low contact forces on the part when the part is subjected to forces expected during manufacture. The system is useful in designing fixtures for machining, pallets for assembly, and can even be used designing grippers for robotic assembly, among its many possible applications. Licensees are sought to market this code. Because the licensee will be responsible for commercialization and maintenance of the codes, the licensee should have significant competence in software development. Presence in a market segment relevant to this product will be a plus. It is anticipated that the licensees primary technical efforts would focus interfaces to commercial CAD systems and user interface improvements. Depending upon interest, licenses may be granted on the basis of platform (e.g. Windows, Macintosh, Unix), CAD system (e.g., Autocad, Pro/Engineer), or other. Sandia is committed to a continuing research program in this domain. Future improvements to the existing code will be available for negotiation with the original license. A workshop describing and demonstrating capabilities is anticipated for mid-June, 1995. Licenses are expected to be granted no later than December, 1995. Those companies interested in this licensing opportunity should write or fax Kay Carter, Sandia National Laboratories, P.O. Box 5800, MS 1380, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185-1380 Fax (505) 271-7867.

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