ABSTRACT
With a greater demand for waste reduction, the need to remanufacture products has increased and the industry is beginning to move to disassembly automation in the same way that assembly had previously. This research investigates the use of active adjustments and compliance to improve the efficiency of the disassembly of products where one component is fixed into another component through a slot or channel. The aim is to cater for uncertainties in the relative positioning of the components, thus minimising damage and enabling fast separation. Several strategies were employed to identify the most effective method of separation. Experiments reveal that adjusting the position proportionally to the forces measured could provide good results. It was found that using an oscillating motion path rather than a linear motion as a part of an active adjustment and compliance strategy can greatly reduce resistance forces.
