The first COTS (commercial off the shelf) robotic installation in the UK nuclear industry has been successfully completed, proving FANUC’s technology in this challenging field. FANUC ARC Mate 120iC and M-900iB/360 robots are playing a starring role in a pioneering waste size reduction project as part of Sellafield’s ongoing decommissioning process.

In a first-of-its-kind autonomous application designed and delivered by integrator Cyan Tec, the new skip sorting and laser cutting cell has reduced the amount of space needed to store radioactive waste to a third of its original footprint. The cell has also slashed the time it takes to dismantle and repack radioactive skips from months to minutes, while eliminating the need for human involvement in this hazardous operation.

Cyan Tec designed and installed a full turnkey laser cutting and handling system to operate autonomously within a nuclear bunker. At the heart of the system are the two six-axis FANUC robots: the compact ARC Mate 120iC for cutting, and the heavy duty M-900iB/360 for panel handling. They were selected above all else for their reliability, which has been proven in accelerated life tests and comes with an eight-year zero maintenance promise.

“The cell had to be 100% reliable, as there was no opportunity for going in and fixing it if anything went wrong,” says Tony Jones, managing director of Cyan Tec. “That’s why we chose technology that had already been proven in demanding industries.”

He continues: “It’s incredible to think that by automating this task we’ve been able to reduce the time it takes to cut down and repack a skip of waste from approximately one month to just 60 minutes.”

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