This machine is designed to automate the replacement of 200-kg circuit breakers with a two-minute cycle time. For this design, an autonomous forklift design was not allowed.
The first image shows an overview of the warehouse floor. The spare circuit breakers are on the left and the circuit breaker bays are on the right. The two machines are currently in the handshake position, where a circuit breaker is handed from one machine to the other.
This mechanism picks up circuit breakers. It is driven by a ballscrew in both the vertical and horizontal directions. The telescoping parts of the machine are comprised of multiple linear slides. The entire mechanism is driven by a rack and pinion.
This mechanism places circuit breakers into their respective bays. The system is moved across the floor by a rack and pinion, and the system rotates via a belt drive attached to a slewing bearing.
