Approach
This project was developed to help with subassembly of parts. After working with my co-worker, press-fit designs were made on SOLIDWORKS.
Each press-fit fixture contains a cap that connects to the arbor press, an alignment fixture, and a base fixture where the component securely sits in.
The arbor press cap was designed to smoothly fit onto the press. The base fixture allowed the components to securely sit in. The alignment fixture allowed for a slip-fit for the dowels while still aligning them upright. To make most parts
machinable, I also designed some jogs for the alignment fixture as shown in the image. Using the 2D drawing dimensions, I created a natural stop where the fixture will bottom out leaving the correct length of dowel exposed.
One problem I came across was SLA printing clear resin. The printed part would increase in height due to the extra resin layer curing during the process. To resolve this, I sanded down the parts and measured them with calipers to reach the
desired height.
Additionally, after inspecting the subassemblies with an initial fixture prototype, the data showed that the dowels were angled in the Y-plane. To fix this issue, I increased the width of the alignment and base fixture such that the press
cap would not tilt the dowels.
After some modifications, the base and alignment fixtures were now FDM printed with ABS and the holes were oversized. But the press cap was SLA printed because it produced more accurate dimensions.
