S.A.Robotics

Client	West Valley Nuclear Services Co.
Facility	DOE Demonstration Site
Location	West Valley, NY

S.A.Robotics is able to provide finishing details, analysis and fabrication drawings in cases where the customer has already developed a design specification and/or preliminary design drawings. Our design engineers are able to enhance the design effort by providing suggestions for improvements based on our past experience. S.A.Robotics will complete design details to meet the specifications which are then submitted for approval. We complete the process by either providing in-house fabrication or by managing outside fabrication until the project is complete.

S.A. Robotics recently completed the design of a highly specialized set of 65’ carbon fiber manipulator arms to be used by the West Valley Nuclear Services Company. The challenge was to build two arms that would be capable of dismantling internal components in a 17’ x 17’ x 60’ deep hot cell that has background radiation levels of 50 rad. Access to the cell was limited to a 7’x 7’ opening at the top of the cell. S.A.Robotics designed a 54’ telescoping mast with an 11’ manipulator. The arm provides a total of nine (9) degrees of freedom and interchangeable end effectors including grippers, shears and cutting saws. The resulting design provides the customer with an all-in-one electromechanical arm.

Several key innovations were developed for the West Valley Demonstration Project, a NQA-1 project. S.A.Robotics designed and fabricated a telescoping mast, with sections ranging from 13.5” to 6’ to address significant loads associated with West Valley’s need. Mast sections were designed from carbon fiber to reduce the weight of the arm. Managing cabling and wiring on such a long telescoping arm required development of a compact hose, cabling, and wiring storage system. S.A.Robotics provided the complete system including remote controls and a supporting viewing system.