Robotic Technologies for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Assembly

Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stacks and their components are currently being manufactured using laboratory fabrication methods. While in recent years these methods have been scaled up in size, they do not incorporate high-volume manufacturing methods. In this context, manufacturing R&D is necessary to prepare advanced manufacturing and assembly technologies that are required for low-cost, high-volume fuel cell power plant production. U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has identified high-priority manufacturing R&D needs for PEMFCs. Along with efforts to develop technologies for high-speed manufacturing of fuel cell components, DOE identified the need for demonstrating automated assembly processes for fuel cell stacks. The scope of this chapter is to review current manufacturing R&D efforts in the area of automated processes for assembling PEMFC stacks, to present the current state of development, successful demonstrations, related technological challenges and the technical solutions used to overcome them. An emphasis of this review is on the design of tools used for robotic grasping, handling and inserting fuel cell components in the stack and on the use of design for manufacture and assembly (DFMA) strategies that enable the automated assembly process

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Gasket Handling and Sorting With Machine Vision Integrated Dual Arm Robot

Recently demonstrated robotic assembling technologies for fuel cell stacks used fuel cell components manually pre-arranged in stacks (presenters), all oriented in the same position. Identifying the original orientation of fuel cell components and loading them in stacks for a subsequent automated assembly process is a difficult, repetitive work cycle which if done manually, deceives the advantages offered by automated fabrication technologies of fuel cell components and by robotic assembly processes. We present an innovative robotic technology which enables the integration of automated fabrication processes of fuel cell components with robotic assembly of fuel cell stacks into a fully automated fuel cell manufacturing line. This task, which has not been addressed in the past uses a Yaskawa Motoman SDA5F dual arm robot with integrated machine vision system. The process is used to identify and grasp randomly placed, slightly asymmetric fuel cell components having a total alpha-plus-beta symmetry angle of 720o, to reorient them all in the same position and stack them in presenters for a subsequent robotic assembly process. The dual arm robot technology is selected for increased productivity and ease of gasket handling during reorientation. The initial position and orientation of the gaskets is identified by image analysis using a Cognex machine vision system with fixed camera. The process was demonstrated as part of a larger endeavor of bringing to readiness advanced manufacturing technologies for alternative energy systems, and responds the high priority needs identified by the U.S. Department of Energy for fuel cells manufacturing research and development

The Contribution of new Production Technologies and Circular Economy Towards meeting the Future Demand of Proton-exchange Membrane Fuel Cells – A Literature Review

The energy and mobility sectors contribute significantly towards the global CO2 emissions. The proton-exchange membrane fuel cell finds application in both sectors and represents a possible green and sustainable technology for electricity generation. Current production rates do not satisfy the predicted demand for proton-exchange membrane fuel cells as the diffusion of this technology keeps increasing. Nor does the per-part cost guarantee a globally sufficiently broad application. The industry must overcome technological and economic obstacles to enable higher production rates at a lower cost per unit. This research gives an overview of current proton-exchange membrane fuel cell production and stacking technologies and provides an outlook on processes that need to be improved to enable faster and lower-cost production. Additionally, the impact of remanufacturing as an end of life option on the circular economy, production, and ecological impact of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells is examined. The knowledge generated by this research shall support increasing proton-exchange membrane fuel cell production rates to catch up with the predicted demand. Since current research on proton-exchange membrane fuel cell remanufacturing is rare, findings on this topic will support the industry in preparing for circular production processes in the future. Results of the present work include an overview of the current state of production for proton-exchange membrane fuel cells, the areas that need improvement, and the role of a circular economy

Challenges and prospects of automated disassembly of fuel cells for a circular economy

The hydrogen economy is driven by the growing share of renewable energy and electrification of the transportation sector. The essential components of a hydrogen economy are fuel cells and electrolysis systems. The scarcity of the resources to build these components and the negative environmental impact of their mining requires a circular economy. Concerning disassembly, economical, ergonomic, and safety reasons make a higher degree of automation necessary. Our work outlines the challenges and prospects on automated disassembly of fuel cell stacks. This is carried out by summarizing the state-of-the-art approaches in disassembly and conducting manual non-/destructive disassembly experiments of end-of-life fuel cell stacks. Based on that, a chemical and mechanical analysis of the fuel cell components is performed. From this, an automation potential for the disassembly processes is derived and possible disassembly process routes are modeled. Moreover, recommendations are given regarding disassembly system requirements using a morphological box

Design and Demonstration of Automated Technologies for the Fabrication and Testing of PEM Fuel Cell Systems

This paper describes the research efforts at Georgia Southern University to develop robotic technologies for the fabrication of fuel cell components and stacks, as well as the design and fabrication of a High Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (HT-PEMFC) power system to be used as motive power and auxiliary power unit (APU) for a long range, unmanned, fully autonomous forest rover. The paper describes a manufacturing workcell consisting of a Yaskawa Motoman SDA5F dual arm robot with machine vision used for sorting, reorientation and stacking fuel cell components in presenters in preparation for their subsequent robotic assembly in fuel cell stacks. It also describes a manufacturing workcell consisting of a Fanuc LR Mate 200iD robot, an in-house made computer numerically controlled (CNC) router and programmable logic controller (PLC) used for automated fabrication of graphite bipolar plates for fuel cells. It presents the design and integration of a fully automated test stand used for testing fuel cells up to 4 kWe power and the design and fabrication of a 250 W, 166 cm2 active area fuel cell stack prototype. The operation characteristics of this short stack prototype are studied before a larger 3 kW fuel cell system will be built

Bridging the Gap between Automated Manufacturing of Fuel Cell Components and Robotic Assembly of Fuel Cell Stacks

Recently demonstrated robotic assembling technologies for fuel cell stacks used fuel cell components manually pre-arranged in stacks (presenters). Identifying the original orientation of fuel cell components and loading them in presenters for a subsequent automated assembly process is a difficult, repetitive work cycle which if done manually, deceives the advantages offered by either the automated fabrication technologies for fuel cell components or by the robotic assembly processes. We present for the first time a robotic technology which enables the integration of automated fabrication processes for fuel cell components with a robotic assembly process of fuel cell stacks into a fully automated fuel cell manufacturing line. This task uses a Yaskawa Motoman SDA5F dual arm robot with integrated machine vision system. The process is used to identify and grasp randomly placed, slightly asymmetric fuel cell components, to reorient them all in the same position and stack them in presenters in preparation for a subsequent robotic assembly process. The process was demonstrated as part of a larger endeavor of bringing to readiness advanced manufacturing technologies for alternative energy systems, and responds the high priority needs identified by the U.S. Department of Energy for fuel cells manufacturing research and development

Application Of The Dynamic Tolerancing Approach To The Assembly Of Fuel Cell Stacks

The proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEM-FC) makes it possible to provide electrical energy for a wide range of applications without polluting emissions as a by-product. However, various challenges need to be overcome before widespread use of this technology is possible. In addition to optimizing its performance and lifetime, a key challenge is to reduce production costs. Production processes significantly affect these three objectives. Tighter manufacturing tolerances on the main components, membrane exchange assembly and bipolar plate, for example, can improve the functions above. However, manufacturing to tighter tolerances usually leads to higher production costs. To resolve the contradiction between 'tight tolerances' and 'low costs', the principle of dynamic tolerancing was developed. So far, this principle has only been implemented for a shaft-hub connection. The approach presented here applies the principle to the assembly process of a stack for a PEM-FC and shows how the channel offset within a stack can be reduced without increasing the requirements for individual part tolerances

Robotic Manufacturing System for Unattended Machining and Inspection of Graphite Bipolar Flow Field Plates for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

A single robot-based manufacturing system for unattended machining and inspection of graphite bipolar flow field plates for proton exchange membrane fuel cells is designed and integrated for demonstration and validation. Unlike most robotic manufacturing systems where an industrial robot is used for tending an automated tool such as a computer numerical control machine, in the present system the industrial robot performs all manufacturing operations, including machining the flow fields on both sides of the plates, changing the tools, handling the plates, vacuuming the plates and the workholding device of graphite dust, flipping the plates, air blowing them and performing machine vision inspection for quality control. The toolpath for robotic machining the flow fields and the manifolds are generated offline using Roboguide simulation software. The manufacturing system uses an integrated machine vision inspection process as a diagnostic tool for in-line checking the presence of machined features and in-line verification of feature dimensions. Besides the considerably lower capital cost compared to other automated manufacturing systems resulted from the elimination of the automated machine tool, the proposed robotic cell has the advantage of better managing the abrasive graphite dust resulted in the manufacturing process. The limitations of the proposed robotic cell are assessed and recommendations for further development are considered. The manufacturing system is demonstrated as part of a larger endeavour of bringing to readiness advanced manufacturing technologies for renewable energy devices and responds the high priority needs identified by the U.S. Department of Energy for fuel cells manufacturing research and development

Hydrogen fuel cell pick and place assembly systems : heuristic evaluation of reconfigurability and suitability

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) offer numerous advantages over combustion technology but they remain economically uncompetitive except for in niche applications. A portion of this cost is attributed to a lack of assembly expertise and the associated risks. To solve this problem, this research investigates the assembly systems that do exist for this product and systematically decomposes them into their constituent components to evaluate reconfigurability and suitability to product. A novel method and set of criteria are used for evaluation taking inspiration from heuristic approaches for evaluating manufacturing system complexity. It is proposed that this can be used as a support tool at the design stage to meet the needs of the product while having the capability to accept potential design changes and variants for products beyond the case study presented in this work. It is hoped this work develops a new means to support in the design of reconfigurable systems and form the foundation for fuel cell assembly best practice, allowing this technology to reduce in cost and find its way into a commercial space

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Pick and Place Assembly Systems: Heuristic Evaluation of Reconfigurability and Suitability

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) offer numerous advantages over combustion technology but they remain economically uncompetitive except for in niche applications. A portion of this cost is attributed to a lack of assembly expertise and the associated risks. To solve this problem, this research investigates the assembly systems that do exist for this product and systematically decomposes them into their constituent components to evaluate reconfigurability and suitability to product. A novel method and set of criteria are used for evaluation taking inspiration from heuristic approaches for evaluating manufacturing system complexity. It is proposed that this can be used as a support tool at the design stage to meet the needs of the product while having the capability to accept potential design changes and variants for products beyond the case study presented in this work. It is hoped this work develops a new means to support in the design of reconfigurable systems and form the foundation for fuel cell assembly best practice, allowing this technology to reduce in cost and find its way into a commercial space