Frame Jig

I designed and built a robust frame fixture to support current and future club members' designs. The main challenges were making it:

Modular enough to fit the geometry ranges of most modern bikes
Mobile, to make the welding process as easy as possible
Precise enough to take geometry dimensions from CAD and input them into the fixture using intuitive references

I made sure there was enough room at the dropout end to tack the stays for bikes with 157mm rear hub spacing.

I made the axle holder detachable so it could be reused in a chainstay/ seatstay fixture.

The bottom bracket point is the main reference for all input dimensions.

Precision laser cut and CNC'd parts allow CAD dimensions to translate into the jig with little calculations.

I incorporated a back purging system to ensure that high stress areas had extra argon coverage.

I had a lot of help from Jake Chutney, an experienced CNC operator working in the UCI Machine Shop.

With the help of the Machine Shop, I gained some experience programming toolpaths for the Haas.

Head tube puck holder and back purge connection

I also had the chance to help program one of the shop lathes to make a dummy axle for 148mm spacing.

Dummy axle holder

We couldn't afford to anodize our laser cut parts but fortunately I could still etch them using Cermark from work.

A rolling stand was welded to allow the fixture to rotate and move freely within the welding room.

I was fortunate to have the support of the bicycle frame building community and built off of the ideas and components that they've developed.