Development of a 6-Axis Robot Arm for Precision ICF Component Manipulation

Small shells (1-2mm diameter) are used at the center of inertial confinement fusion experiments performed at laser facilities such as NIF and the Omega Laser at LLE. In addressing the demand for higher quality shells, General Atomics is developing instruments to measure a large variety of physical attributes of the shells it produces, e.g. surface morphology, out-of-roundness, surface defects, shell thickness and composition. Manual handling of the shells between inspections increases risks of damaging or contaminating the shells. Introducing automated shell handling reduces the risks of shell damage and contamination, decreases operator effort, improves efficiency and enables precise reorientation and positioning of the shells. For this purpose, General Atomics is evaluating a compact 6-axis robotic arm, the Mecademic Meca500. Equipped with the required tools and end-effectors, the precision of the Meca500 robot arm makes it a promising candidate to be used in performing automated shell handling operations without causing damage. Development of tooling, end effectors and the suite of tests needed to demonstrate the robot’s overall suitability for shell manipulation is the topic of this work.