A Unified Model for Variation Simulation of Sheet Metal Assemblies

In this paper, a unified variation simulation method is developed to predict the assembly variation for sheet metal assemblies by considering both rigid-body motion and spring-back deformation. Statistical models are introduced to characterize the variation nature offixture elements, which makes it easy to incorporate the clearances into the variation model. An example ofan auto-body subassembly is given to demonstrate the variation simulation technique.