Frame Jig

Frame Jig Research

Optimize Positioning
- Wood jigs tend to occupy lots of space but more importantly, can make it harder for the welder to reach the areas they must weld together.
- We want to have all joints be accessible, which will not only help our welder but help the process move faster
- Additionally, a more open concept will let the welder work from optimal angles which will aid in the preciseness
Stability
- Our material usage, whether that may be wood(hopefully not) or filament or aluminum, will determine how stable our frame jig is, and the possible movement that may occur.
  - Using wood, which warps would be a concern as this could cause tolerance stackup along welding joints which would be concerning as the welding process moves on.
  - The use of filament is a good option, but the reaction between the filament and heat is certainly a concern, but if spacing allows, the filament would not be durable, just hold up long enough for the joint to be tacked.

The goal is to figure out all the areas which must be jigged, and nothing more than that.
The challenge follows to make sure that all areas are secure, especially the hard points. We do not want to sacrifice the assembly time and efficiency for possible movement.
Some teams use a series of clamps and modular components which would reduce time in set up and break down, and allow rapid adjustments.
- This is a particular avenue to go down, although we are more inclined to bolt everything down to the welders table as it reduce tolerance stack up.
As much as possible, we would like to maintain a simpler system centered around the hardpoints to reduce possible extra set up and machining work.

When discussing our tolerances, a big conversation is to be had, about whether the efficiency of 3D printing outways the tolerance stackup issues which could occur vs machining all our frame jig parts which would result in a longer process but possibly less tolerance stack up.
In reference to tolerance, our hardpoints are certainly our most important areas in which we need to maintain tight tolerances as this does not only affect the frame but many other systems.
- Additionally must have tight tolerance on areas of high stress, especially places where many tubes intersect and where our load cases are going to be tested.
In terms of areas that can take more tolerance, it is areas that are necessarily heaving load bearing parts of our frame, as they will not be points of high stress.

Other Frame Jigs	Pros	Cons

Other Frame Jigs

Pros

Cons

Align Racing 2020: Boomerang Rapido

Seems very stable, and supported
They take an approach more suitable for clamping, but the most interesting part of this frame give, is the bars that they use have holes in them which allow for the clamps to feed into.
This was a particularly unique design compared to most that I researched, as it seems to combine a wood frame, in the amount of material used to support which using the minimality clamping method.

The bottom layer of this frame jig doesn’t really apply to us, as we are essentially situating the bottom of our frame directly to the welding table.
Ideally we would like to make it look a little more simple than this approach, as it seems a little confusing how they braced everything and hopefully we can use less bracing just so that we can weld more efficiently.

This design is definitely more about what we are going for. Especially the way the rear is braced, that angle might be more difficult, but this frame jig gives us a very solid start.
Addiitonally, this lack of bracing is very simple, and one can see the exact points of support, and welding seems a lot easier with the massive amount of space allowed.
The L braces on one side of the bar, is definitely something that we want to implement and that way we can brace and minimize both rotation and vertical and horizontal movement.

The only thing that we are thinking of implementing is the use of two L brackets just to secure the bar and make sure that rotational movement is secured.
The only possible concern would be the amount of machining that would be involved, more specifically when we are drilling holes to fit into the optical table.

Aluminum vs 3D print filament
- Aluminum is much more durable.
- ALthough 3D print would only have to last us one tack, certainly something to look into, and the way tolerance stack up weighs or outweighs efficiency when machining vs 3D printing.