Grant: Engage Grants Program

Good's Logistic Inc. manufactures wood pallets with sizes ranging from 30x48 in2 (76x76 cm2) to 48x48 in2 (122x122 cm2). It uses new wood boards with thicknesses varying between ½ in and 1 in. In addition, the company recycles old pallets to reproduce new ones. By means of an electric metal saw the employee cuts the nails fixing the wood pieces together. The metal saw vibrates horizontally, and the employee pushes the pallet against this saw, which is not a safe operation. There is a non-negligible corporal risk because of the metal blade and sparks produced by the friction between the saw and the nails. Moreover, because of the resistance of the nails and the vibration of the saw, a continuous strong push is required. Furthermore, the employee wastes a lot of time in the process of removing the nails. The company would like to improve its productivity, to reduce manual manipulation and to make the operation safer and more ergonomic. A comprehensive solution is required, in form of a safe and user-friendly system removing nails from wood. To do so, the idea consists in manufacturing a table involving a magnetic field. It is well known that an electromagnet can generate a fairly strong magnetic field. Less widely known, however, is that it is possible to greatly intensify a magnetic field, at least temporarily, by using an explosion to compress it. Currently, to the best of our knowledge there is no commercial system providing such an adaptive system. Moreover the situation presents research challenges since a new intelligent system is needed that does require replacing the present company's electric saws. We propose, through research, to design and implement an efficient manual/automatic user friendly system, which must be adaptable to the different sizes of wood pallets and offer a comfortable work environment for operators.