Animal Care Cage Processing  Project

Project Description 

UCSD Central Research Services facility cleans dirty mice cages from external animal research laboratories. Workers must remove bedding from cages by physically flipping the cages over a dump station before they can be properly cleaned by a conveyor belt washer. This process, which is a full-time job, exposes workers to severe allergens from mice droppings and causes repetitive strain injuries. Currently, there are no commercially available automated solutions with satisfactory efficiency, adaptability, or affordability. This project's objective is to develop an automated machine to grab cages, dump bedding, and load cages onto a conveyor belt washer. 

Project Objective:

 The design priorities are as follows: 

• Must be able to grab 4 cages at a time

• Must be able to operate with the average cage weight of 1.5 lbs

• Must only require human interaction for loading cages into the machine.

• Must operate at a rate of approximately 70% of a human worker’s efficiency, which is equivalent to 8 cages a minute. 

Final System Design 

Results

The system would operate with soiled cages. Before testing at the UCSD Central Research Facilities, a “dry test” with unsoiled cage bedding was conducted to ensure the machine could perform the work cycles. 

The machine was able to complete a full workflow cycle at the required load. A full cycle can be completed in 32 seconds, which is 64% of worker efficiency. Further optimization of the motion profiles can result in a more efficient work cycle. 

Narrated Video Introduction of the Project