Mach One Solutions Welding Table
What started it all; a basic weld fixturing table for the solar car
The finished welding table
Fusion360 CAM model I created to make the tool path for the center drill
Center drilling the surface with a CNC router
Center drilled holes on the surface
Using a magnetic drill press to make the center drilled holes standard size thru holes
Mag-drilling in progress
Overview
Before we could start making the chassis, we needed a surface that we could fixture to during the welding process. To do this, the team and I designed and built a basic welding table. Essentially a modified workbench, we fastened a large plate of mild steel and square tube stand-offs to convert the bench to a usable weld fixture table. The plate of mild steel was manually drilled into over 600 times by the team with a magnetic drill press to make holes for fixturing components. Each drilled hole had a pilot hole made by a center drill on a CNC router. Without making this first, there would be no solar car.
Key Features
- Standardized fixture table hole pattern
- Steel surface to maintain conductance
- Convertible back to a normal workbench
- Easily movable on wheels
Process
- Measured the dimensions of the existing workbench surface
- Created a CAD model of the welding table surface plate with standardized hole pattern
- Generated a CAM toolpath for CNC router center drilling operation
- Drilled fixturing holes after pilot holes were routed
- Welded square tube standoffs to bottom of plate
- Fastened to existing workbench
Tools
Skills
Outcomes and Results
The completion of this small project was a big one for the team, as it was the first hands on endeavor we took and a big step towards starting fabrication of our chassis. The table worked greatly for locating fixtures akin to the CAD assemblies. The project gave us some foundational skills that we ended up also utilizing during the chassis making process. Due to the fact that we drilled the fixture holes manually there was a slight variation on hole placement throughout the welding table. Because of this, we have plans to create a Welding Table V2, that is modular, laser-cut/water jetted, and then tapped to ease fixturing challenges. Fabricating it with this method should give us some added precision to future fixture weldments.
Reflection
This project to me was a perfect preview of what was to come for the solar car. It was hard work and tedious work, drilling over 600 holes straight on the steel plate but the necessity of the table made us push through. The same ideology applied for all future systems regarding the solar car, especially due to the custom nature of it. This project reinforced my understanding of designing items for fabrication, and thinking ahead of what manufacturing processes will be used to make parts that I designed. It was also cool to be introduced to the concepts of making toolpaths in CAM, even in this simple application. It highlighted the importance of understanding the stock material, the machining order of operations, and ways to optimize manufacturing speed. The experience gained from this project has been invaluable in subsequent engineering endeavors.