Custom Test Stand & Fixture Frames
Test stand and fixture frames hold the locators, clamps, and instruments that put a part in a known position for a check or a test cycle. K-Display welds them to your drawings, with mounting surfaces for the locators, leveling feet, and cable and air rails.
Test stand and fixture frames we build
We weld the frame under a check fixture or test stand from tube and plate in aluminum, carbon steel, or stainless steel, with a top plate or rails that take your locator blocks and clamps. Frames ship bare, powder coated and marked, or with feet, plates, and hardware fitted.
A base that carries a machine to the floor and the forklift is Machine Bases & Skid Frames, and a support frame for a drive or a module is Welded Frames & Weldments.
The fixture plate holds the locators and the clamp, and the welded rails under it only present the surface it seats on. The datum scheme is taken from that surface.
Frames and the features on them
- Frames for check fixtures and gauges
- Tube and plate frames that carry locator blocks, nests, and pins for a gauge or check fixture.
- Test stand frames
- Benchtop and floor-standing frames, with shelves for instruments and mounts for clamps, sensors, and actuators.
- Plate and riser mounting surfaces
- Pads, plates, and risers that take your locators and clamps, on the hole pattern from your locator drawing.
- Leveling and routing provisions
- Leveling feet or pads, cable and air rails, and removable panels.
What the locators need from the frame
- Datum scheme and locator surfaces
- Locator plates and blocks are fastened to the frame, so the frame has to present their mounting surfaces and hole patterns where the datum scheme puts them. A weld close to one of those surfaces moves it.
- Loading and clamp reaction
- Clamp force reacts through the frame into the members under the locator plate. A frame that gives there moves the surfaces.
- Support and leveling
- A frame on four fixed feet rocks on a floor or bench that is not flat, and forcing it level twists the frame. Adjustable feet or pads let it seat.
- Fasteners and finished faces
- Locators, pins, and pads that wear or adjust need reachable fasteners. Coating on a mounting face or a locator hole changes how a plate seats.
From datum scheme to fitted frame
The surfaces that carry the datums are fitted first, because a weld beside one pulls it as it cools.
Cut the plates, fit the frame
We laser cut the plates from your frame and locator drawings, then fit the frame up.
Weld the frame
We MIG or TIG weld with the sequence set for distortion at the mounting surfaces.
Mask, coat, mark, and fit
We mask the mounting faces and locator holes, powder coat, and remove the masking, then apply the label, decal, or silk-screened ID and revision and fit feet, plates, and hardware.
Separate locating from fastening
Show the locator layout and the frame’s mounting surfaces together. Identify dowel holes separately from clearance holes, and leave fasteners reachable so a plate or wear component can be removed without dismantling the stand.
The dowels locate the plate; the screws hold it against the mounting pads. Bare contact faces preserve that seating relationship when the surrounding welded frame is coated.
What to send for a test stand quote
- Frame and locator drawings
- Member sizes, material, weld symbols, the datum scheme, and mounting surfaces and hole patterns for locators and clamps.
- Part and loading
- The part or instrument, its weight, where it is clamped, and the clamp force if known.
- Finish and marking
- Coating color, faces and holes to keep bare, and the label, decal, or silk-screen ID with its text and revision.
- Supply and quantity
- Number of stands, delivery date, and the plates, locator blocks, clamps, feet, and hardware you supply or we purchase to your part numbers.