Barrnon has successfully completed the design, manufacture, integration and off-site testing of a new robotic system developed to support the remote cleaning and decontamination of legacy skips within a highly regulated environment.
The bespoke system has been developed as an integrated robotic platform, combining industrial robotic manipulation, purpose-designed containment, control and safety systems, and a range of interchangeable cleaning technologies. The equipment enables cleaning processes to be deployed remotely within a sealed environment, reducing the need for direct operator interaction with the workpiece.
The project has taken the system from detailed engineering and manufacture through assembly, software and controls integration, commissioning and comprehensive Factory Acceptance Testing at Barrnon’s Cumbrian facility. Testing covered the robotic system and tooling alongside electrical systems, containment integrity, emergency stops, safety interlocks and other functional and regulatory requirements and CE marking.
A significant aspect of the programme has been the successful integration of a number of different process technologies onto a common robotic platform. This required Barrnon’s multidisciplinary engineering team to bring together mechanical design, robotics, electrical control and instrumentation, software, functional safety and process engineering into a single operational system.
The testing programme produced positive results. Following completion of the trials, the system was shipped to the client site for active testing. This project shows Barrnon’s robotic design and integration capabilities, delivering the system quickly and to the clients specification for active use on a nuclear licenced site.