A tombstone, also known as a pedestal-type fixture, tooling tower, tooling column or fixture block, is a fixture of two to six or more sides, onto which are mounted parts to be manufactured

Manufacturing

Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...

. Tombstones are typically used in automated

Automation

Automation is the use of control systems and information technologies to reduce the need for human work in the production of goods and services. In the scope of industrialization, automation is a step beyond mechanization...

 systems: parts are loaded onto the tombstone so that robots may operate on one part, flip the tombstone, and operate on the next part until all processes are completed, then transport the entire tombstone to the next station.

The first tombstone type fixture was patented in 1971 by the Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke

Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke

Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke was a German aerospace company formed by the 1964 merger of Focke-Wulf and Weser Flugzeugbau GmbH...

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Tombstones are used in agile manufacturing

Agile manufacturing

Agile manufacturing is a term applied to an organization that has created the processes, tools, and training to enable it to respond quickly to customer needs and market changes while still controlling costs and quality....

to facilitate quick and easy installation, scalability and reconfiguration.