Problem:Chips/sawdust clog the lathe requiring human intervention.

Operators To Consider:

A piece of wood stock is turned by the motor. The person uses a variety of tools to remove wood and shape it into a final product. As the material is removed, sawdust and wood chips fall down due to gravity. This material falls into the body and working/moving elements of the lathe. If enough material collects there it interferes with the operation of the lathe. This is not usually a problem when a person is involved. The person simply uses a vacuum or brush to clean away the debris. However, recently the company replaced all human operators with robotic operators. The robots are excellent at using the tools to shape the wood but lack the flexibility and visual acuities to allow it to brush out the lathe. Right now, the company hires several people to walk around and clean out the lathes. The company wants a solution not requiring human intervention. The company is not interested in solutions involving redesign or replacement of the lathes because it costs too much. A Problem Formulator Diagram is shown on the next page.

Question:

Consider the two operators given above and suggest a solution made possible because of using robotic operators instead of human operators. Hint: use the resources already available in the system or environment. There is a force presentable to be used to solve the problem.