Reference Plates provide the means to repeatability place and remove fixture sub-assemblies for fast changeover tooling. Reference is used for large parts like body panels, instrument and door panels, full auto bodies, exhaust systems and other large ridged or flexible parts.

Reference Plates are the backbone of large fixture construction. These bases are built in 3” increments and have holes on a 3” grid specifically designed to hold all of Omni’s standard Base Platforms, XTR Bases and Caps. The Reference pattern holds any combination of nested Platforms. Multiple Reference Plates can be connected to form large base systems and while generally used as horizontal bases or vertical walls working at angles is an easy possibility.

The customer’s original request (shown above) was for a horizontal base & vertical wall assembly. As designed it was to have five 30” x 60” Reference Bases for each surface. When installed it was reduced to four bases for each surface.

Later the customer asked for the design to be reconfigured to a wall system (shown to the right) using eight of the 30” x 60” Bases. The new design utilized many of the original components and added a few new ones. The new wall was installed on the lab floor rather than on the cast iron grid base. This necessitated new alignment and leveling methods to assure a final flat surface between the eight plates and 240” x 60” combined surface. Ultimately the wall was flat to .005” over the full surface.

The Roll Bar fixture shows the basics of building a gauge using Reference and XTR Bases, Caps and Tubes. S75 Slides and other S75 components hold indicators to measure the location of the roll bar tube end.

Additional examples of Omni’s Reference Plates in use.

The image above left is a roll formed bumper on a 30” x 60” Reference Plate.

The image above right shows an auto fender on a Reference Plate supported by our XTR framework as a table.

These few examples of Omni’s Reference Plates just start to touch on the capabilities. And while this small collection are all automotive related, we are after all a Michigan based company, there are many opportunities in any industry that builds large or heavy parts. We can show you how to hold aircraft components, electric motors, farm implements, appliances and more.

The image below left shows an interior door panel held on the lower edge but also at the top using an XTR “T” structure. The fixture holds driver and passenger panels.

The image below right is a frame structure for a mid-sized SUV. This was built on four 36” square Reference Plates mounted on a rolling cast gauge base. The fixture would hold the independent side rails, the assembled frame (shown) and the assembly with the floor panels. Minor reconfiguring was required to convert between the designs.