Sacrificial Support Fixture Optimisation for the CNC Rapid Machining of Medical Parts with Thin Ends

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to develop a methodology for optimising the shape of automated sacrificial support fixture (SSF) design, so as to machine a part with thin ends (like the hip joint) using a rapid machining process. A sacrificial support fixture is created at the ends of the part to give support to the part during machining. Finite element analysis (FEA) is used to optimise the shape of sacrificial support fixture for the machining of a part via computer numerical control rapid prototyping (CNC-RP). The research work proves that the optimised design of a sacrificial support fixture has been extremely flexible in securing a variety of intricate parts having thin ends in the computer numerical control rapid prototyping machining. For rapid machining, a tapered support is best suited for the part with thin ends. The limitation of the optimised sacrificial support fixture, designed for an intricate part, is that it is applicable only to CNC machining with the four axis rotational setup.