RECIPROCATING SAW ATTACHMENT FOR ROBOTIC ARM Bennett Schlect, Blake Hansen, Cameron Summerfield, Kyle Monaghan
CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
VALIDATION
Robotic arm only provides 50 RPM maximum motor speed
OBJECTIVE Design and build a reciprocating saw attachment that will replace a claw attachment on a robotic arm.
Gear increase would be necessary for adequate cutting speed
50 RPM
Scratches on Stainless
BACKGROUND
Cut through aluminum in 8 minutes
Client: Idaho National Laboratory (INL) INL uses a hot cell (protective room for handling radioactive material remotely) A gantry-mounted robotic arm with claw attachment will be placed in hot cell
Can not cut through stainless steel reliably given our setup
FINAL DESIGN
INL needs a way to cut radioactive material inside the hot cell (shown below)
Housing FEA
Finite Element Analysis (FEA) shows that housing will not fail due to loading Simulated drop onto concrete from 3’ confirms durability Cross-Section
KEY REQUIREMENTS Contain only steel and aluminum components; no plastics or electronics Required to cut up to 4” diameter, ¼” wall thickness stainless and aluminum tube Fit into the hot cell’s 2’x2’x3’ air lock
1:3.33 gear increase
All steel hardware
180 RPM output
Machined aluminum housing
SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONS Meets all requirements besides stainless steel Good for aluminum The robotic arm motor is the limiting factor – needs more speed Despite conditions, our design performs flawlessly
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Weigh less than 50 pounds Must be accessed and worked on by tele-manipulators inside the hot cell (shown above)
Mentor: Dr. Matthew Swenson Graduate Student Mentor: Zane Holliday INL Representatives: Jesse Kappmeyer & Tom Pfeiffer
Reciprocating Saw
2023 Capstone Project