Secure Clamping of Parts for Disassembly for Remanufacturing

Abstract

AbstractRobot based remanufacturing of valuable products is commonly perceived as promising field in future in terms of an efficient and globally competitive economy. Additionally, it plays an important role with regard to resource-efficient manufacturing. The associated processes however, require a reliable non-destructive disassembly. For these disassembly processes, there is special robot periphery essential to enable the tasks physically. Unlike manufacturing, within remanufacturing there are End-of-Life (EoL) products utilized. The specifications and conditions are often uncertain and varying. Consequently the robot system and especially the periphery needs to adapt to the used product, based on an initial examination and classification of the part. State of the art approaches provide limited flexibility and adaptability to the disassembly of electric motors used in automotive industry. Especially the geometrical shape is a limiting factor for using state of the art periphery for remanufacturing. Within this contribution a new kind of flexible clamping device for the disassembly of EoL electrical motors is presented. The robot periphery is systematically developed regarding the requirements stemming from the remanufacturing approach. It consists of three clamping units with moveable pins. Utilizing two linear axes, a two dimensional working space is realized for clamping the parts depending on their conditions and shape.