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Original Date: 11/03/1996
Revision Date: 01/18/2007
Information : Glovebox Quick Glove Replacement System
Gloveboxes are frequently used at Oak Ridge to shield plant workers from exposure to hazardous materials. Workers manipulate hazardous materials and perform other tasks in gloveboxes through rubber gloves that allow the worker to reach into the enclosed work area. The hazardous environment also causes wear on the gloves which may develop a hole or crack after several months of use. Work must be stopped in the glovebox area for several hours while the glove is replaced. Oak Ridge worked with a contractor to develop a quick change mechanism with which a glove can be replaced in a matter of minutes.
Oak Ridge uses a non-conventional oval pass-through in its glovebox areas for greater freedom of movement. The quick change system is comprised of a special fixture for installing the new glove, the new glove, and a mechanism for removing trapped room gases from the space between the old glove and the new glove. Gloves are attached to the glovebox by the pressure fit of a plastic flange. The replacement process for a new glove includes:
Hand fitting a new glove on top of the damaged glove flange
Attaching the quick change fixture to tooling holes on the glove box over the new glove
Removing trapped gas if necessary from the space between the two gloves
Turning down a wheel on the fixture, forcing the new glove flange into the attachment position
Popping the damaged glove into the glovebox
Removing the fixture
Moving the damaged glove to the glovebox waste material removal area. A cover is also provided for quickly sealing the damaged glove area if glove replacement cannot be performed immediately
This low tech approach to glove replacement has reduced the glove replacement time from several hours to a matter of minutes and simplified the process.
For more information see the
Point of Contact for this survey.
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