Graduate Studies

 

First Advisor

Carl Nelson

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Committee Members

Brittany Duncan, Dale Worner, Eric Markvicka, Shane Farritor

Department

Mechanical Engineering

Date of this Version

8-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Citation

A dissertation presented to the Graduate College of the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Major: Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics

Under the supervision of Professor Carl Nelson

Lincoln, Nebraska, August 2025

Comments

Copyright 2025, Matthew Newman. Used by permission

Abstract

Marble Technologies has developed a new system for beef, pork, and lamb producers that improves quality and worker experience in the packing of products. This work explores the augmentation of this system with the introduction of robotic packing to further reduce labor, increasing worker availability for value-added tasks.

Experimentation conducted to date has explored handling delicate meat products in the standard Marble system and the proposed robotic systems. These mechanical subsystems are critical intermediaries in safely and reliably delivering products to robots and from robots to boxes. Two case studies are presented to walk through the process and challenges of integrating robotics into the existing systems. These case studies include an in-depth simulation of both the existing system and the proposed robotic systems, while also proposing modifications to control algorithms to improve productivity. The studies present methods for measuring packer and robot productivity to direct the development of system layouts. Finally, custom robotic concepts are presented as alternatives to commercially available robotic solutions. As a result of this work, it is proposed that the engineering challenges to the viability of a robotic packing solution have been met and that robotic meat packing is deemed viable. Additionally, while routes forward in the development of the system are presented, much engineering effort remains to bring a robotic solution to market.

Advisor: Carl Nelson

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