Process Automation at SOLEIL: Two Applications Using Robot Manipulators

Robot manipulators are an important component in most autonomous systems in the industry. Arc welding, machine tending, painting, picking, are only some examples where the robot manipulators are widely employed. In Synchrotrons some process can benefit from robotic approaches in order to improve automation. Automatic Sample Changer on beamlines is the most common example of automation. This paper describes two robotic applications developed at Synchrotron SOLEIL. Both applications use the SOLEIL robotic standard introduced some years ago [1]. The first application aims to automate the exchange of samples for powder diffraction experiment on the CRISTAL beamline. Hence, a pick-and-place robot is used to automate the process of picking up the sample holders and placing them on the goniometer. The second application, also of the pick-and-place type, is dedicated to the automation of the magnetic characterization of magnet modules of an U15 undulator. These modules, built with a permanent magnet and two poles, are measured using a pulsed wire method [2]. In this case, the robot picks the modules stored in boxes to then place them on the test bench of the U15 undulator.