Crimper

The objective of the crimp station was to create a machine that would secure the warhead in a air-tight package, without damaging the warhead so that it can be stored until it is ready for destruction.

The challenge was designing a container and sealing system that would meet the requirements for this critical stage in the process, that could contain the warhead and be sealed with an air-tight seal. The first step was designing a custom canister that would house the warhead and the second step was to design and build a machine that would be able to provide an airtight seal with repeatable performance. 

The combination of the CRG custom crimp station and CRG custom designed canisters achieved that objective. The process for this critical station includes the following actions:

• The clean robot lowers a custom canister into the Crimp Station table, where lower clamps are engaged to lock the canister into position
• The canister cap is then removed  and it is ready to receive a warhead
• The agent robot then places a warhead into the canister and the clean robot replaces the cap.

After the insertion process is complete, the crimp station table will form an airtight seal for the canister. It does this with over 30-tons of hydraulic pressure, using a two-stroke action to complete a 360-degree airtight seal. Crimped canisters are then pressure tested to ensure they exceed the minimum requirements.