Automating the assembly of fixturing kits would represent a significant advance, but these kits usually involve 'infinitely variable' connections such as tee-bolts running in slots, which require careful positioning and tightening to achieve acceptable tolerances. The accuracy and 'feel' necessary is well beyond most robotic devices.

One approach to solving this problem involves the principle of the slip-gauge, in which precisely dimensioned components are assembled selectively to yield a particular dimensional value, without much greater accuracy than the assembly process itself. To adopt this principle in the design of fixtures, the dimension-setting capacity of 'slip-gauge' elements must be built into components that connect with sufficient rigidity to counter the forces involved in machining, and the number of different elements must be reduced as far as possible. Both of these goals have been met in the fixturing kit presented on these pages.

Functional mechanical elements and a working prototype assembly machine were produced at the University of Bath, in a project undertaken in conjunction the UK SERC and Westland Helicopters Ltd. However, the developers are still looking for industrial adoption of the self-locating fixture.