High pressure resin injection moulding (HPRTM) requires inter-process tool cleaning and detailed offline cleaning to maintain part quality and process efficiency. A release agent is used to prevent the part from bonding to the tool, and a buildup and reapplication of this release agent is an essential challenge to this project.

1. Goal: Extend tool life in production, reduce manual labor, and improve process efficiency by automating tool cleaning and release agent application.

2. Challenges:

   • The manual cleaning process was labor-intensive, time-consuming, and caused tool wear, leading to frequent offline cleaning and excessive downtime

   • In production release agent was solvent based - This required working closely with the material research team to ensure development of the release agent progressed in parallel to automated cleaning. The challenge of this correlation is that a solvent based release agent is quite flammable and requires an intrinsically safe automation cell, while the move to a water based system can be automated with less risk.

   • Compatibility of the release agent and the cleaning process is critical for extending cycle life.

3. What I Did:

   • Investigated and selected cleaning technology – Evaluated various methods and prototyped laser cleaning for its non-abrasive nature, zero tool wear, and lower material costs.

   • Designed and tested an automated laser cleaning system – Developed a robotic tool cleaning process to efficiently remove release agent buildup while keeping tools in production for more cycles.

   • Automated release agent reapplication – Designed and tested a pneumatic end effector with a precise air gun system for controlled application of the new water-based release agent.

   • Extended Support for Materials Science Team – Conducted 4 weeks of time-critical factory trials of the new release agent, gathering manual data for each wheel produced, performing visual inspections, and ran torque release studies to validate release agent performance.

4. Result:

   • Developed a laser-based tool cleaning methodology, proving its feasibility for automation.

   • Designed and prototyped a robotic cleaning system, demonstrating improved process efficiency.

   • Created a ready-to-launch robotic cleaning cell design in KUKA Sim, set for full-scale deployment.