DESIGN, ANALYSIS AND SIMULATION OF

FLEXIBLE WELDING FIXTURE FOR CONTROL

ARMS OF ATV

A PROJECT REPORT

Submitted by

YASHWANTH P 17BME103

BALA KUMARESH T 17BME150

KRISHNAKANTH C K 17BME233

In partial fulfillment for the award of the degree

of

BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING
IN

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

KUMARAGURU COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

COIMBATORE 641049

DECEMBER 2020
i
 KUMARAGURU COLLEGE OF
TECHNOLOGY

BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE

Certified that this project report “DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF

FLEXIBLE WELDING FIXTURE FOR CONTROL ARMS OF ATV" is
the bonafide work of “ YASHWANTH P, BALAKUMARESH
T,KRISHNAKANTH C K ”, who carried out the project work under my
supervision .

SIGNATURE SIGNATURE
Dr.C.VELMURUGAN Dr.B.N.SREEHARAN
(HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT) (SUPERVISOR)

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Mechanical

Engineering,

Kumaraguru College of Technology, Kumaraguru College of Technology,

Coimbatore – 49. Coimbatore – 49.

ii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This project is dedicated to all those who bought us out as shining stars and
encouraged us to complete this project successfully.
We are greatly thankful to our Chairman, Dr. B. K. Krishnaraj Vanavarayar,
our Correspondent Thiru. M. Balasubramaniam and our Joint Correspondent
Shri. Shankar Vanavarayar, for giving us moral strength and support by
providing us the required infrastructure at KUMARAGURU COLLEGE OF
TECHNOLOGY. 
We are highly indebted to our beloved Principal, Dr. J. Srinivasan, for
providing us support, motivation, and guidance, and also for providing us all the
necessary resources for carrying out this project work.
We are very grateful to our respected Head of the Department of Mechanical
Engineering, Prof. Dr. C. Velmurugan, for his encouragement with constant
support and continuous motivation, review, and cooperation throughout this
project work.
We wish to record our profound happiness and gratitude to our Project
Coordinator Dr. P. Sathyabalan (Professor), Project Guide Dr. B. N.
Sreeharan (Assistant Professor – II) from Mechanical Engineering Department
for their constant and continuous effort guidance, and valuable time.
Our sincere and hearty thanks to all the faculty members and staff of the
Mechanical Engineering Department for their good wishes, timely help, and
support rendered to us for doing this Final Year Research Project work.
We are very greatly indebted to our family, relatives, and all our friends without
whom our lives would not have been shaped to this level.

iii
 ABSTRACT

In the manufacturing industry fixtures play a vital role in certain important factors like

product manufacturing quality, productivity, and cost. Welding fixture is the fixtures which

are designed to weld certain parts which are difficult to weld in normal ways or may be due

to the complex nature of the part makes it difficult to weld without using a welding fixture.

The fixture is to be designed in such a way to hold the complex structure which is the

suspension control arms of ATV. The problem has been identified which is the thermal

distortion of control arms during welding. A literature survey has been done on the basic

principles behind the fixture design and the other basics related to the welding and its effect

which causes thermal distortion in control arms during welding. The methodology part along

with the concepts behind each term has been explained and along with that, a study has also

been done on the certain parameters behind the welding technique. The selection of materials

along with the design and calculation has been done to provide a better result to overcome the

welding issues analysis and simulation has been done to improve the manufacturing quality

of the control arm. The results and discussion part has been done and analyzed based on the

requirement of holding the control arms to reduce the thermal distortion. Here the factors like

the welding area, welding time cooling rate, and other things related to the fixture have been

considered to provide a better result. The flexible fixture has been designed to provide better

handling and ease to adapt to different kinds of control arm design and given a better

conclusion to justify the concepts which have been used while designing the fixture. Finally,

the uniqueness of the project is accredited by the versatility or the ability of the fixture to

weld suspension arms of ATV vehicles in the automobile industry.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER TITLE PAGE NO

ABSTRACT IV

LIST OF TABLE VII

LIST OF FIGURES IX

1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 ATV 1

1.2 SUSPENSION OF ATV 2

1.3 A-ARM 2

1.4 NEED FOR FIXTURE 4

2 PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION 5

3 LITERATURE SURVEY 6

4 METHODOLOGY 9

4.1 FLOW CHART 9

4.2 CALCULATION 10

4.2.1 BASE OF THE FIXTURE 10

4.2.2 RECTANGULAR TUBES (SLIDER) 11

4.2.3 U CLAMPS 11

4.2.3.1 : CLAMPING FORCE 11

4.2.4 MATERIAL SELECTION 12

4.2.4.1 MILD STEEL PROPERTIES 12

4.2.4.2 MATERIAL PROPERTIES 12

4.3 CAD MODEL 13

4.3.1 INTRODUCTION 13

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 4.3.2 CONCEPTUAL DESIGN 14

4.3.3 INITIAL CAD MODEL DESIGN 14

4.3.4 FINAL CAD MODEL DESIGN 17

4.3.4.1 BASE OF THE FIXTURE 17

4.3.4.2 SLIDER IN THE FIXTURE 18

4.3.4.3 BLOCKS USED IN THE FIXTURE 18

4.3.4.4 MOUNTING TAB SLIDER 18

4.3.4.5 MOUNTING TABS 19

4.3.4.6 FRONT HOLDER 19

4.3.4.7 WOODEN BLOCKS 20

4.3.4.8 COMPLETE ASSEMBLY 20

4.3.4.9 CONTROL ARM DESIGN 20

4.3.4.10 WELDING SLEEVE 21

4.3.4.11 BALL JOINT HOLDER 22

4.4 ANALYSIS 22

4.4.1 CONTROL ARM 23

4.4.2 CONTROL ARM 2 24

4.4.3 SLIDER 25

5 RESULTS & DISCUSSION 27

6 CONCLUSION & SCOPE FOR FUTURE WORK 29

7 REFERENCE 30

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 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1 : CAD Model of ATV 1

Figure 1.2 : Complete Assembly of Suspension 3

Figure 1.3 : Control Arm with Ball Joint 4

Figure 4.1 : Control Arm 1 13

Figure 4.2 : Reference for Fixture Design 14

Figure 4.3 : Initial CAD Design 14

Figure 4.4 : Base of the Fixture 14

Figure 4.5 : Implementation of Slider in Fixture 15

Figure 4.6 : Arrangement of parts in the base 15

Figure 4.7 : Slider Arrangement 15

Figure 4.8 : Mounting Tabs 15

Figure 4.9 : Slider with Mounting Tabs 16

Figure 4.10 : End Holder 16

Figure 4.11 : Slider with End Holder 16

Figure 4.12 : Complete Fixture Assembly 16

Figure 4.13 : Modified Base for the Fixture 17

Figure 4.14 : Arrangement of Sliders in the Base 17

Figure 4.15 : Block in the Base 18

Figure 4.16 : Block Arrangement in Base 18

Figure 4.17 : Slider with the Block 18

Figure 4.18 : Slider Arrangement in Base 18

Figure 4.19 : Modified Mounting Tabs 19

Figure 4.20 : Mounting Tabs in Slider 19

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Figure 4.21 : Modified End Holder for Arm 1 19

Figure 4.22 : End holder 19

Figure 4.23 : Wooden block 20

Figure 4.24 : Wooden block in Base 20

Figure 4.25 : Complete Assembly of Arm 1 21

Figure 4.26 : Complete Assembly of Arm 2 21

Figure 4.27 : Complete Assembly of Arm 3 21

Figure 4.28 : Welding Sleeve 21

Figure 4.29 : Sleeve in Control Arm 21

Figure 4.30 : Ball Joint Holder 22

Figure 4.31 : Ball Joint Holder Arrangement 22

Figure 4.32 : Total Deformation without Fixture 23

Figure 4.33 : Equivalent Stress Distribution without Fixture 23

Figure 4.34 : Total Deformation using Fixture 24

Figure 4.35 : Total deformation of Slider 25

Figure 6.1 : Existing Design for Passenger Vehicle 27

Figure 6.2 : Modified Design for ATV 27

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 LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 : Mild Steel Properties 12

Table 2 : Material Properties 12

Table 3 : Comparison of Material Properties 13

Table 4 : Maximum Deformation and Maximum Equivalent Stress for 24

Control Arm 1

Table 5 : Maximum Deformation and Maximum Equivalent Stress for 25

Control Arm 2

Table 6 : Maximum Deformation and Maximum Equivalent Stress for 28

Control Arm 1

Table 7 : Maximum Deformation and Maximum Equivalent Stress for 28

Control Arm 1

ix
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 ATV:

An all-terrain vehicle (ATV),known too as a quad, is a vehicle that trips on low-pressure

tires, with a seat that is bestrode by the operator, laterally with handlebars for steering
control. It is designed to handle a wider range of terrain than most other vehicles.

 Type I ATV: They are intended by the manufacturer for use by single operator and no
passenger.
 Type II ATV: They are intended by the manufacturer for use by operator and
passenger, and are equipped with designated seating position behind the operator.

ATVs are not like “one size fits all.” The ATV industry has recommended all riders to
operate an ATV intended for their age. Youth model ATVs are designed for smaller feet and
hands, and travel at slower speeds suitable for their age. The rider sits and rides these vehicles
like a motorcycle, but the extra wheels give more stability for the vehicle during lower
speeds. Six-wheel models exist for specialized applications although most vehicles are

equipped with three Fig 1.1 : CAD Model of ATV

1
or four wheels. Utility terrain vehicles (UTVs) are multiple-user analogues with side-by-side
seating or side-by-sides to distinguish the classes of vehicles. Both classes have similar
powertrain parts.

1.2 SUSPENSION OF ATV:

All Terrain Vehicles(ATVs) are designed to tackle various kinds of terrain in Nature. In any
vehicle, suspension system plays an integral part since it provides stability, safety and
comfort. The suspension system can be regarded as muscle of vehicle due to its strength and
flexibility. The main objective of providing suspension system is to provide comfort by
preventing passengers from the shocks transmitted through irregular ground surface, maintain
traction on all terrains and also to improve the quality of ride of the vehicle . Regardless of
the road surface it must keep the tires in contact with the road. The suspension system
constitutes of two components :Linkages and Shock absorber. During the travel on irregular
surfaces, linkages define the path traced by wheel with respect to chassis. The shock absorber
damps the impact of shocks and vibration transmitted through ground surface which prevents
discomfort to the driver and passenger.

1.3 A-ARM:

An a-arm is an important part of a vehicle’s suspension system. It is the link between the
wheel (from the hub) and the chassis of the vehicle. An a-arm can have various
configurations depending on the suspension points situated on the chassis and also the
configurations vary in cars from different manufacturers. The term A-Arms, though could be
A-shaped, L-shaped, or even a single bar linkage, is a Four bar link mechanism formed by the
unequal arm lengths. The control arm causes a change in the vehicle’s camber as it rolls, thus
helps in increasing the ultimate cornering capacity of the vehicle and also maintain the square
contact with the ground. One end is connected to the framework and the other is end
connected to the wheel assembly of our car.

The lower control arm connects the lower most area of the front wheel and the upper control
arm connects the uppermost area of the front wheel and, with both arms then attaches to the
frame of the car. The design is similar if independent rear suspension is present.

The common types of control arm suspensions are:

 Strut type suspension

2
  Control arm type suspension
Strut type designs have no upper control arm but a lower control arm. The strut becomes the
upper control arm and at times is connected directly to the spindle or the lower control arm,
in strut designs.

Fig 1.2 : Complete Assembly of Suspension

A - With two control arm bushings each control arm is connected to the vehicle frame. These
bushings allow the control arms to move down and up.

B - To a steel spindle the opposite end of the control arm is attached. The front wheel is
bolted to the spindle. The spindle is attached to both the upper and lower control arms with a
ball joint on non-strut equipped vehicles. The ball joint allows the wheels to move up and
down following the roads surface and steel ball enclosed in a steel socket allows the front
wheel and spindle to rotate left and right.

C - Sandwiched between the control arm and vehicle frame, positioned in a spring socket, is a
heavy steel coil spring that provides a cushion against bumps and supports the weight of your
vehicle.

D - The arms are tied on the frame side to pivot up and down on the control arm bushings to
combine the two opposite motions on each end of the control arm. The control arm is tied to
the spindle and front wheel with lower and upper ball joints ,on the opposite end. The coil
spring dampens the shock of road surfaces and supports the weight of the car. Some control
arms include adjustable attachment points at the frame to ensure that the ball joints, control

3
arms, and bushings are in perfect alignment. A mechanic can align the front end and keep
your car driving straight down the road when necessary.

1.4 NEED FOR FIXTURE :

As already mentioned, in an ATV Control Arm plays an important role in suspension

geometry. The design as well as manufacturing leads to change in geometry of the suspension
of ATV. Of the manufacturing process of A-arm, the most important part is the welding
process. Welding a normal plate has a drawback of thermal distortion. In control arms the
thermal distortion due to welding is quite a Dangerous one. Because due to Thermal
distortion there will be change in its physical structure of the geometry of the control arms,
which will lead to change in mounting or Hard points leads to unnecessary change in the
geometry of the whole ATV.

So the Degrees Of Freedom(DOF) must be arrested at the welding points in order to avoid
distortion in the hard points. There are different configurations of a suspension setup in an All
Terrain Vehicle itself. So, different fixtures and jigs must be used for assembly of different
configurations which consumes more time , is less productive and increases difficulty. So
designing a fixture to overcome this issue is important. Our main objective is to design a
flexible welding fixture for control arms that will decrease distortion compared to those of a
stationary welding fixture .

And also the fixture will be designed in such a way that it will allow all of the surfaces on the
work piece to be welded without re-fixturing the work piece and so on which will be
discussed in the coming of the Report.

4
 CHAPTER II

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION

One of the major problems arising in the assembly process of ATV, and also a
significant area of weakness to CAE investigations is the effect of the welding process
on dimensional stability of the structure. During the manufacturing of automotive chassis
components it is usual to use Tungsten Inert Gas, TIG,  welding technology as a means to
assembling complex pressed parts. Inherent to this welding process some degree of weld-
induced distortion is expected in the final component. The net effect of this distortion
(direction and magnitude) is difficult to predict on newly designed parts, however it has been
proven on numerous occasions to be repeatable (within limits) on established products. The
severity of these distortions is not always evident or repeatable during prototype manufacture,
partly because the pedigree of the parts is not always consistent. This is because the process
does not necessarily follow that proposed for volume production, and welding
parameters/speeds can vary along with differences in clamping, location and also cooling
time. As a consequence of this it is common in industrial practice to protect critical
dimensional and package constraints by the application of other technology (i.e. setting
/machine operations) downstream to where the distortion occurs. These additional operations
prove to be costly, have there own inherent problems and usually add little or no value to the
finished part, other than guaranteeing its dimensional conformance at specific locations or
features.
The automobile industry is one of the most important industry in terms of technological
development. In this, the manufacturing part of each component is the most important in the
automobile industry. The most important effect of welding is thermal distortion. Thermal
distortion is one of the important effects which need to be taken into consideration because it
changes the geometry of the particular component while welding. So the first technique
which has been implemented to reduce the thermal distortion is by holding the DOF by using
jigs and fixture. Here the welding of control arms has been considered because it is the most
crucial part of the ATV. The control arm is one of the important parts which defines the
suspension geometry. Welding of the control arm is one of the difficult processes so it is
necessary to use jigs and fixtures to reduce the thermal distortion. There are certain issues in
the older fixture design so a new fixture with ease to handle and adapt to different kinds of

5
control arms has to be designed. So, a flexible fixture has to be designed to hold different
types of control arms.

CHAPTER III

LITERATURE SURVEY

M. Vural, H.F. Muzafferoglu and U.C. Tapici [1], performed investigation on the effect of
Welding Fixtures on Welding Distortions. It was found that Distortions are increased by
increasing heat input and are inversely proportional to weld speed .The study has shown that
cooling rate of the welded parts is mainly affected by the fixture design. Rigidity of work
piece, providing proper position, providing safety of operation and ease, increasing
productivity and low manufacturing cost itself are summarized as the characteristics of a
fixture.

V.R. Basha and J.J. Salunke [2] made an Advanced Exploration on Fixture Design. They
found out how to weld various components to design an a-arm ensuring accuracy and solid
build quality, implement the use of jigs. A Fixture design is said to have desirable
characteristics such as quick loading and unloading, accessibility, minimum number of
components, design or multiple cutting operations, low cost, portability, etc.

M. Yuvaraj, H. Karthick, V. Gopalakrishnan and Stanly Wilson Louis[3] made design,

fabrication and analysis of Welding Fixture having higher accuracy without using robots.
They came to know that care should be taken while deciding the Welding parameters since
they have a considerable effect on the properties of the weldment. The weldment produced by
TIG has better tensile strength and impact strength and So, TIG welding is preferable

Ankush Sharma and Shankar Singh [4] made Comparative Study on the Effects of TIG
Welding Parameters on AISI 4130 and AISI 1018 Pipe Weldment. Current as 70 A, SGFR as
10 lt/min and welding speed as 52 mm/min for Mild Steel were found to be the modified
parameters for better ultimate tensile strength. AISI 4130 pipe joints were found to be having
higher tensile strength than AISI 1018 It is concluded the effect of the type of material,
welding speed and welding current on the ultimate tensile strength of the joint is significant.

Viashak Bhandary M, Sudeep N S and Naveenakrishna P V [5] made Design and

Analysis of Robot Full Welding Fixture for Front Chassis of Wheel Loader. They made clear

6
that Fixture Design should be in such a way that the pressure or motion of the machine
operation is primarily directed against the solid component of the fixture. It is concluded that
fixture must be designed in such a way that the pressure or motion of the machine operation
is directed primarily against the solid component of the fixture to reduce damage and
reworks, increase production rate, reduce manufacturing cycle time and increase quality of
welding .

Varma Prasad V.M., Joy Varghese V.M., Suresh M.R. and Siva Kumar D[6] made 3D
Simulation of Residual Stress Developed during TIG Welding of Stainless Steel Pipes. They
said that, from outer to inner surface residual stress changes from compression to tensile.
They found out that, due to the deformation and shrinkage during the cooling phase in the
weld zone a tensile residual stress is developed on the inner surface and a high compressive
stress is developed on the outer surface. It is concluded that, when welding current increases
the range of residual stress distribution becomes wider.

C.A. Kubade, S.V. Patil and V.P. Patil[7] made Design and Analysis of Welding Fixture
for Automotive component using FEA. This paper also explained about the 3-2-1 location
principle. They have noticed that the thermal stresses are distributed around the welding
points and by the graph they have found that there is variation in temperature with respect to
time during Thermal analysis. It is said that making parts that are not subjected to too much
wear and are not highly stressed from mild steel is highly economical.

J. Rajakumar, M. Sheik Ibrahim Bathusa, N. Pothivel Rajan, K. Sulaiman, A. Simon

Christopher and K.C. Ganesh[8] jointly conducted Numerical Investigation of Heat
Transfer Behaviour during TIG Welding of Stainless Steel Pipes for Various Welding Heat
Input Conditions. It was noticed that the thermal cycle shows different thermal cycle profile
at the start and end of the welding point . As the heat input is increased the amplitude of
transient temperature distribution is increasing .It is noted that the convection effects of
weld pool was neglected during the simulation as the peak temperature at higher heat input
was very high.

ManikGupta, Sanjeev Kumar Shukla, Vipin Kumar Sharma and Hemant Kumar[9]
studied the Effect of TIG and MIG Welding on Microstructural and Mechanical Properties. It
provides a good perspective of both MIG and TIG welding. They have explained about the
impacts of welding with TIG rather than MIG. The impact of various process parameters in
TIG and MIG welding, which affects the microstructural and mechanical properties of the

7
base metal is reviewed in the paper. The fatigue life of the weld metal decreases by
increasing the input heat, and also fatigue life increases and the impact energy of the weld
metal increases by increasing the welding speed.

S A Wani, Tejas S. Adate, Suresh L. Rathod, Nilesh S. Bhosale and Shivam A.

Potdar[10] made Design and Development of Welding Fixture for Fabricated Frame Work.
To provide better movements in the fixture, sliding motion is employed. To prevent matching
issues notch should be selected. Explanation regarding a common procedure to design a
welding fixture is given. A clamping arrangement to clamp the frame as per required
dimensions is provided. They conclude notching is easier to get good results and the
techniques are more dimensionally tolerant.

Neeraj Kumar Jha and Raghu Prem [11] created a Design and made Analysis of Welding
Fixture for Elementary Weld Joints. It explains about the principle behind the basic fixture
design for MS plates and usage of clamps and locators to provide a rigid support. Proper
location, clamping, loading unloading and melting should not be affected by resultant
distortion and expansion of heated workpiece. The wide heat affected zone is contributed by
a wide arc zone and this widely dispersed amount of heat could harm other fixture parts in
long production run.

Shrivastava and N. Jayanth Shyam [12] designed a Versatile Jig and Fixture for Welding
of Suspension Arms. They Explained how to overcome the issues in flexible welding fixture
design. In this project, welding fixtures are designed by considering welding area, cycle time,
and availability of space for fixture which are the welding factors. To reduce distortion
clamping is suited. The most apt material because of its low wear resistance, low cost, low
electrical and thermal conductivity, thermal properties is the mild steel.

8
 CHAPTER IV

METHODOLOGY

4.1 FLOWCHART:

Problem Identification

Literature Survey

Organizing the Problem

Objectives of Project

Design of Flexible Controlling Thermal

Fixture Distortion

Conceptional Design of Fixture

CAD Modelling using 3D Software

9
 Selection of Material and Process
Parameter

Calculation of Stress and Load Distribution

Analysis for Designed Prototype

Modification of Design

Validation of Design Result

Evaluation of the Design

Analysis of Result

Comparison of Result with Existing Design

Result and Discussion

Conclusion & Scope for Future Work

4.2 CALCULATION:
4.2.1 BASE OF THE FIXTURE:
10
The first and foremost consideration which has been taken is the dimension for the base of
the fixture. The maximum range of the control arm for the control arm will be in the range of
420 - 480 mm in length. So the dimension of the base has been chosen as 640 x 400 mm. The
distance between the hard points of the arm is found to be about 203.2 – 254mm. This is the
maximum range with which the maximum length among different designs of the control arm
can be constrained during welding.

4.2.2 RECTANGULAR TUBES (SLIDER):

The rectangular tubes (slider) is the most important part of the design in a flexible welding
fixture. This provides the movement for the mounting tabs which holds the arm with the
fixture. The dimension will be chosen based on the analysis results to arrive at a better-
modified result in means of reducing the weight and cost of the fixture.

4.2.3 U CLAMPS:

The U Clamps is used to hold the control arms within a particular limit to control thermal
distortion. The desired U Clamp for this purpose is ¾ inch clamp because the outer diameter
of the pipe used in the control arms of ATV is about 24.4 mm. The dimension of the pipe can
be varied based on the requirement.

4.2.3.1 CLAMPING FORCE:

The Clamping force is used to tighten the control arms with the fixture. The Clamping force
formula used is mentioned below.

T =K × D × P

T = Torque (in-lb), K = Constant to account for friction (0.15 – 0.2 for these units), D = Bolt
diameter (inches), P = Clamping force (lb).

Take T as 0.2 N-m or 1.76 in-lb (small force exerted by the hand).

D = 8 mm (or) 0.315 in

Therefore, Clamping force, P = (1.76) / [(0.2) x (0.315)] = 27.93 lbs (or) P = 12.6 kg for each

clamp.

D = 6 mm (or) 0.236 in

Therefore, Clamping force, P = (1.76) / [(0.2) x (0.236)] = 34.3 lbs (or) P = 14.5 kg for each

11
clamp

Two different bolts are used based on the requirement of the fixture design. These are the
most

important calculations used here to design the flexible fixture.

4.2.4 MATERIAL SELECTION:

The foremost important part of the fixture is the material selection. The material which has
been chosen for this fixture is Mild Steel. The mechanical properties of Mild Steel have been
given below.

4.2.4.1 MILD STEEL PROPERTIES:

DENSITY Table 1 : Mild steel

7850properties
kg/m3
MELTING POINT 1350 – 15300 C
0

THERMAL EXPANSION COEFFICIENT 5 x 10-6 /0C

It has been also included the other materials which have been considered while selecting the
suitable material for the fixture.

4.2.4.2 MATERIAL PROPERTIES:

The reason for the selection of Mild Steel is the weldability nature of the material. It also acts
as the suitable material for this flexible fixture is also due to some other factors like cost
availability and light in weight compared to other carbon materials. The main factor which
makes this material a suitable one because it is also easy to machine along with its low
thermal expansion.

Table 2 : Material Properties

Material Aluminium Stainless Steel Copper Bronze

Density (x 1000 2.71 8.03 8.94 7.8 – 8.8

kg/m3)
Melting Point (0C) 660.3 1371 – 1399 1085 1050

Boiling point (0C) 2519 - 2562 -

Thermal expansion 23.0 17.2 16.6 – 17.6 18.0 – 21.0

12
 coefficient (x 104/0C)

Mild Steel
Table 3 :Tool Steel ofAluminium
Comparison Stainless
Material Properties Copper
6061 Steel Alloys
Material Low Medium Medium High High
Cost
Wear Medium High Low Medium Low/High
Resistance
Electrical Low Low Medium Low High
Conductivit
y
Thermal Low Low High Low High
Conductivit
y
Thermal Low Low High Medium Medium
Expansion

4.3 CAD MODEL:

4.3.1 INTRODUCTION:
The concept behind our fixture design is to provide flexibility to over come the adaptation of
different types of ATV control arms in a single fixture. The CAD model has been designed in
such a way to overcome the above mentioned issue. Hereby the design procedure which has
been followed to attain the desired output will be explained.

Before starting the CAD modelling part, reference control arm is to be chosen to get the flow,
to design the flexible fixture design. The CAD model of the respective control arm is shown
in Fig 4.1 .

13
Fig 4.1 : Control Arm 1
4.3.2 CONCEPTUAL DESIGN:

This is the first step in designing the fixture and considered different kinds of fixture and
came to a conclusion, which is selecting the suitable fixture for the project mentioned. Fig 4.2
is our initial conceptual design from which modification has been done to achieve the

desired output.

4.3.3 INITIAL CAD MODEL DESIGN:

From this design, another design has been modified to achieve the flexibility even more
better to avoid the fixing issues in the base plate which is shown below.

Fig 4.2 : Reference for Fixture Design

14

Fig 4.3 : Initial CAD Design Fig 4.4 : Base of the Fixture
In the above design, the concept of T slots, as in lathe beds, has been used to provide a better
holding of control arms and disassemble the control arm from the fixture with ease. Later on,
this concept is then modified to provide a better holding with minimum usage of resources
and cost. The design has been modified again by using rectangular tubes in place of blocks to
reduce the weight of the fixture and to provide a simple holding of control arms by using
bolts

and nuts in place of T slots. The image Fig 4.5 depicts the modified fixture design as
mentioned above.

This design gives the basic idea to provide a better flexible fixture design to overcome the
issues with the weightage of the fixture. In this project the name of the rectangular tubes is
slider. Welding
Fig 4.5 has also been
: Implementation done on
of Slider the slider where
in Fixture the: Arrangement
Fig 4.6 slider doesn’tofget involved
parts in the directly
base
in the movement of certain parts to adjust the holders to lock the mobility of the control
arm ,during welding. The slots in the rectangular tube is to insert the bolts through the
rectangular tubes to hold the tabs within a particular limit.

Moving on to the next part of the design is the movement within the fixture to hold different
control arms with varying and different lengths. For that purpose, it has been chosen to
include a rod within the fixture where there will be bearing block which moves along the
longitudinal axis of the rod. The Fig 4.6 clearly depicts the above mentioned data.

15
Further moving on,In the design of the fixture there must rectangular tube to hold the ends of
the control arm rigidly to provide zero mobility during thermal distortion. A rectangular tube
known as slider has been attached above the bearing block. This slider also has the slots to

hold

the control arm tabs within the range. The Fig 4.7 shown includes the above mentioned data.

Then the most important part of the design is the mounting or holding tabs. The mounting
tabs of the control arms has been designed to hold the control arms within the range of the
slider where the mounting tabs will be arranged. The Fig 4.8 shown below is the CAD model
of the Mounting tabs. The mounting tabs along with the slider is also shown to provide a
better
Fig 4.7 : Slider Arrangement Fig 4.8 : Mounting Tabs

understanding of the design. Here the mounting tabs move along the inner surface of the
slider and the slots provided on the slider is to hold the mounting tabs. The bolts has been
used to hold the moving tabs by the use of slots provided over the rectangular tubes.

16
Fig 4.9 : Slider with Mounting Tabs Fig 4.10 : End Holder
The next part is to hold the other side of the control arm with the front mounting tabs with
different dimension and design variation. These front mounting tabs design can be changed
based on the design of control arms where there is a usage of ball joints or normal circular
pipes. This has been also shown in Fig 4.10.

Another Fig 4.11 of the front mounting tabs along with its respective slider is shown below.
This provides the concept of holding the control arms based on the desired requirement while
welding.

Fig 4.12 : Complete Fixture Assembly

This is the overall concept behind the initial CAD design of the project. Later on, the
discussion will be based on how the modification of the design takes place and how the
desired outcome of the project will be achieved. The Fig 4.12 which is shown below
picturises the whole assembling of the control arm in the fixture of the initial CAD design of
Fig 4.11 : Slider with End Holder
the project.

Certain modifications have also been done to get a better design with minimal weight and
other factors regarding the performance of the fixture. Few wooden blocks have been
included to hold the circumferential part of the control arm by using U-clamps which are
tightened over the control arms along with the wooden clock to provide lesser distortion
during welding.

The next part of our project CAD design is the final CAD model design. Here the discussion
will be on the modification of the above mentioned design along with some additional parts
included to get better results. The same control arm design is used to modify the fixture
design.

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4.3.4 FINAL CAD MODEL DESIGN:
4.3.4.1 BASE OF THE FIXTURE:
The first and most important modification which has been done is the base of the fixture. The
size of the case is reduced to provide minimum weight so as to hold the base in table with an
angle iron. Some slots have been included to provide movement for the slider over the base
plate which is the essential part in holding different designs of control arms shown in Fig
4.13

4.3.4.2 SLIDER IN THE FIXTURE:

The design of rectangular tubes or the sliders used in the fixture is the crucial one because it
has to provide the linear motion and also has to provide locking of the mounting tabs which
slides over the slider. The slider also has to fit within the base of the fixture because the slider
has to be welded on the base of the fixture. It is shown in Fig 4.14.
Fig 4.13 : Modified Base for the Fixture Fig 4.14 : Arrangement of Sliders in the
4.3.4.3 BLOCKS USED IN THE FIXTURE: Base
The blocks used in the fixture design has to provide sliding motion within the slider to
provide flexibility for different design of control arms. The blocks are designed in such a way

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to overcome the issue of overweight and also to provide better stability while sliding through
the slider.

The above shown images clearly depict the relation between the blocks and the slider. The
green and the light red colour blocks are fastened using M6 bolts so that it can disassemble
the two blocks when required.

Fig 4.15 : Block in the Base Fig 4.16 : Block Arrangement in Base

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4.3.4.4 MOUNTING TAB SLIDER:
The mounting tab slider is designed to hold the mounting tabs ,used to hold the control arms

so as to avoid the distortion during welding. The slider is welded to the block which has been
Fig 4.17 : Slider with the Block Fig 4.18 : Slider Arrangement in Base
tightened to the green block as mentioned previously.

The slots are provided on the slider to hold the mounting tabs in the mounting tab slider.
Images are shown for better understanding.

4.3.4.5 MOUNTING TABS:

Fig 4.20 : Mounting Tabs in Slider

The mounting tab is used to hold the arm with the fixture ie., it is the connection between the
fixture and the arm. M8 bolts are used to tighten the control arm with the mounting tabs and
the same is used for mounting tabs and the slider to provide ease within the work and to
reduce time in assembling or disassembling.

4.3.4.6 FRONT HOLDER:

Fig 4.19 : Modified Mounting Tabs

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This holds the other side of the control arm to the fixture. It also moves over the orange
coloured slider. This is also designed similar to that of the mounting tabs but the only
difference is the height of the mounting tabs.

Fig 4.21 : Modified End Holder, Fig 4.22: End holder arrangement
4.3.4.7 WOODEN BLOCKS:
The wooden blocks are designed to hold the circumferential surface of the circular control
arms to reduce thermal distortion. The wooden blocks are also moved through the slider
which is attached to the base of the fixture. These wooden blocks act as the base for the
control arms where it will rest.

Fig 4.23 : Wooden Block Fig 4.24 : Wooden block in Base

For the above mentioned block, material used is wood in order to reduce the weight of the
overall fixture. The control arm is tightened by using a U-Clamp. It can be easily changed to
wooden block when required based on the design of the control arms.

4.3.4.8 COMPLETE ASSEMBLY:

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Here the complete assembly of a particular control arm in flexible fixture will be shown in
Fig 4.25 . The control arms are mounted in the fixture using the mounting tabs and front
holder along with the wooden block and U-Clamps. The complete assembly includes all the
holding parts which are tightened using respective bolts, nuts and washers.

4.3.4.9 CONTROL ARM DESIGNS :

In this project three different kinds of control arm designs are used. The fixture is suitable for
all the three different kinds of control arms. The complete assembly of first control arm
design is shown above. The other two different control arms along with its complete
assembly is shown below.

The figures 4.26 and 4.27 completely depict how different kinds of control arms can be fixed
in this flexible fixture. There are certain other needed while welding control arms using this
fixture.

FigFig
4.25 : Complete
4.26 Assembly
: Complete of of
Assembly Arm 1 2
Arm

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 Fig 4.28 : Welding : Complete Assembly Fig
Sleeve
Fig 4.27 4.29 3: Sleeve in Control Arm
of Arm

4.3.4.10 WELDING SLEEVE :

This part has to be added inside the control arm in order to insert M8 bolts inside the control
arms because the inner diameter of the pipe used in the control arms is 23.54mm so a sleeve
must be used to insert the M8 bolts so that the control arm and the mounting tabs can be
tightened.

4.3.4.11 BALL JOINT HOLDER :

23
The control arms used in the front side of the vehicle uses a ball joint to provide turning of
the wheel that is, to steer the vehicle. A different kind of front holder has to be designed to
hold

the ball joint side of the control arm to the fixture. The figure shown below depicts the CAD
Model of the ball joint holder.

These are the additional parts to be added while using this fixture for welding control arms.
By this fixture design it is possible weld different types of control arms by only changing the
holding parts of the fixture with the control arms.

Fig 4.30 : Ball Joint Holder

4.4 ANALYSIS: Fig 4.31 : Ball Joint Holder Arrangement

The analysis plays an important role in deciding whether the design is optimal in order to
provide a better quality of the model which has been designed. Based on the results it will be
selected whether it has to be modified or it is enough for the particular design. In this project
the analysis has been done mainly on the arm to provide a clear clarification that the fixture
design will control the thermal distortion while welding the control arm when compared to
welding the control arm without using the fixture to hold the control arms.

Here the discussion will be based on simply about whether holding the control arm will
clearly reduce the thermal distortion of the control arms of various kinds of design. The part
of this report includes the analysis of two different kinds of arm which has been assembled in
the fixture. The arms which shown here will be shown in the CAD design part of the report
with a complete assembled version.

4.4.1 CONTROL ARM:

24
The first arm which has been chosen to represent here is same as that of the first arm used in
the CAD design part of the report. This control arm is used for the rear arm in the off road
vehicle of a particularly designed vehicle. Moving on to our analysis part of this particular
control arm, it has been done both the thermal analysis and structural analysis that is total

deformation and total heat flux of the control arm. The material which has been used here for
the analysis is AISI 4130 because the most preferred material for the control arm is the AISI
4130 commonly known as Chromoly.

The figure 4.32 depicts the amount of total deformation takes place when the control arm is
welded
Figwithout usingDeformation
4.32 : Total any fixture to hold the hard points.
without Fig 4.33 : Equivalent Stress Distribution
Fixture without Fixture
When using fixture to hold the hard points of the control arms, the total deformation
produced is much lesser when compared to the deformation produced when welded without
using fixture. the proof for the lesser deformation is shown in the figure 4.33.

These are the analysis which has been done on the first control arm and it has been concluded
that welding using fixture is a better option compared to welding the control arms without
using the fixture. The same procedure has been used to analyse the second control arm. The
below shown table includes the date regarding the maximum deformation produced on both
the cases for the control arm. It has been also included the maximum equivalent (von-misses)
stress.

CONTENT MAXIMUM TOTAL MAXIMUM EQUIVALENT

DEFORMATION (mm) (VON-MISSES) STRESS
(MPa)

25
 CONTROL ARM 1.6788 e-12 1.9278 e-7
WITHOUT FIXTURE

CONTROL ARM WITH 3.794 e-13 6.7641 e-7

FIXTURE

Table 4 : Maximum Deformation and Maximum Equivalent Stress for Control Arm 1

From the table it is clear that the total deformation of the control arm with fixture is lesser as
compared to the control arm without using the fixture as discussed. The Equivalent stress
values is negligible when there is a comparision made between them.

4.4.2 CONTROL ARM 2 :

The second control arm which has been chosen is used as a control arm of the front side of
the vehicle. Welding of this control arm has to be precise because in this arm there is part
where the shock absorber will be mounted. Here also the same analysis has been done
followed by the analysis of the first control arm that is both the thermal and structural
analysis. Here also

Fig 4.34 : Total Deformation using Fixture

both the total deformation and the equivalent (von-misses) stress has been done and
discussed. The figure 4.34 which is shown below depicts the total deformation of the second
control arm.

As discussed previously for the first control arm, the similar results has been obtained for the
second control arm. The table which is shown below includes the data regarding the
maximum deformation produced on both the cases for the control arm. It has been also
included the maximum equivalent (von-misses) stress.

26
 CONTENT MAXIMUM TOTAL MAXIMUM EQUIVALENT
DEFORMATION (mm) (VON-MISSES) STRESS
(MPa)
CONTROL ARM 1.6547 e-12 2.1437 e-7
WITHOUT FIXTURE

CONTROL ARM WITH 4.7882 e-13 2.8023 e-7

FIXTURE

Table 5 : Maximum Deformation and Maximum Equivalent Stress for Control Arm 2

From the table it is clear that the total deformation of the control arm with fixture is lesser as
compared to the control arm without using the fixture as discussed. The Equivalent stress
values is negligible when there is a comparision made between them. These are the analysis
which has been done on the control arms to modify fixture design.

4.4.3 SLIDER :
The slider is the most important part in the fixture design which involves in the movement of
the mounting tabs which is used to hold the arms within the fixture. The mounting tabs
moves through the longitudinal axis of the slider which in turn is helpful to provide a better
sliding grip to hold the control arms. For this the static structural analysis has been done on
the part to identify the total deformation along with the equivalent (von-misses) stress. The
below show figure represents the total deformation of the part which has been chosen.

The total deformation is pretty much lesser so that the design which has been chosen is better
in use of holding the control arms. The maximum total deformation produced here is about
0.00035299 mm and the maximum equivalent (von-misses) stress generated is about 0.32673
MPa.

Fig 4.35 : Total deformation of Slider

27
These are the analysis which has been performed in the fixture design to modify a better
design to reduce the thermal distortion in the control arms of ATV

28
 CHAPTER V

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The flexible fixture has been designed and modification has also been done to provide a
better result. It has been compared with the existing design and the design results provide a
better ability to adjust for different kinds of control arm design. The figure which is shown
below is the flexible fixture for passenger car vehicles.

Fig 6.1 : Existing Design for Passenger Fig 6.2 : Modified Design for ATV
Vehicle

While designing the flexible fixture, this above-mentioned CAD Model has been taken into
consideration. Certain modifications have been done by using Rectangular tubes as Sliders to
hold the control arms with the fixture. Also, bolts and nuts have been used in this design to
reduce the manufacturing cost of that part along with the time. The figure which is shown
below is the modification of this design to hold different control arms within a single fixture.

This is how the design has been modified and slight changes have been done to provide a
single fixture for a different design.

The next and the foremost discussion is based on the results obtained through analysis. A
steady-state thermal analysis has been done on the control arms and came to understand the
thermal distortion of the control arm during welding. The design has been modified based on
the results of the analysis and also some changes (dimensions and design) have been done.
The table which has been shown below clearly depicts the results that the design will be

29
suitable to hold the control arms with a negligible amount of thermal distortion during the
welding.

FOR CONTROL ARM 1:

CONTENT
Table MAXIMUM
6 : Maximum Deformation TOTAL
and Maximum MAXIMUM
Equivalent EQUIVALENT
Stress for Control Arm 2
DEFORMATION (mm) (VON-MISSES) STRESS
(MPa)
CONTROL ARM 1.6788 e-12 1.9278 e-7
WITHOUT FIXTURE
CONTROL ARM WITH 3.794 e-13 6.7641 e-7
FIXTURE

FOR CONTROL ARM 2:

CONTENT
Table MAXIMUM
7 : Maximum Deformation TOTAL
and Maximum EquivalentMAXIMUM EQUIVALENT
Stress for Control Arm 2
DEFORMATION (mm) (VON-MISSES) STRESS
(MPa)
CONTROL ARM 1.6547 e-12 2.1437 e-7
WITHOUT FIXTURE
CONTROL ARM WITH 4.7882 e-13 2.8023 e-7
FIXTURE

From this table, it is clear that the maximum total deformation along with maximum
equivalent (von-misses) stress is negligible in terms of the design aspect which doesn't alter
the suspension geometry of the ATV.

30
 CHAPTER VI

CONCLUSION & SCOPE FOR FUTURE WORK

6.1 CONCLUSION:

The complete fixture has been designed for welding the control arms of ATV which
is useful to reduce the thermal distortion. This design of fixture will be easy to handle and
leads to a decrease in the manufacturing time which automatically increases the productivity
compared to the design of a normal fixture. The design and the analysis part of this flexible
fixture have been done in such a way to adapt to any different kinds of control arms. The
modification of the design justifies the quality of the fixture to provide better compactness in
the fixture area, holding the control arms and the other parameters related to it. The material
(MILD STEEL) which has been chosen provides a better quality of the fixture with a
minimal amount of cost. The design can be used for different kinds of suspension control arm
welding, is cost-efficient, is productive, and is safe to handle. The design of this flexible
fixture allows the user to weld the other side of the arm by disassembling one side of the
control arm which is the most effective part of the design in terms of time-related to the
manufacturing part. Later on, this fixture can also be suited for some passenger car vehicles
and F1 cars which have a similar design to that of the ATV. The uniqueness of this project is
accredited by the welding of different kinds of suspension control arms along with its
manufacturing time and ease to handle. Further improvements can be done to this design
based on the requirements in need.

6.2 SCOPE FOR FUTURE WORK:

As it is known that, Automobile too is an ever developing Industry. While that is

the case, the manufacturing sector has to face more and more design of control arms . Some
may be complex and some may be simple. In that case, it has to be used more of a versatile
fixture. This fixture is designed in such a way that you can make some modifications in it and
use it for upcoming arms during welding process. And also there is a scope for improving the
control of thermal distortions in the welding process.

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