Cleaning robot for recycling equipment

A self-cleaning apparatus for sorting a mixture of materials, the apparatus comprising:

• a material sorter for sorting material, wherein the material enters the sorter and travels along the sorter in a travel direction, the material sorter comprises a rotational detection feature that further comprises a reinforcement structure;
• a multi-axis arm adjacent to the material sorter, wherein the multi-axis arm is constructed to move an end of the multi-axis arm in at least three linear directions, each of which is orthogonal to the other directions;
• a cutter connected to the end of the multi-axis arm;
• and
• a sensor for detecting a location where material has accumulated on the material sorter;
• a processor connected to the sensor, the multi-axis arm, and the cutter, wherein the processor performs the following steps:
• locating the location where material has accumulated on the material sorter;
• detecting the rotational detection feature with the sensor;
• determining the rotational position of the material sorter based on the location of the feature;
• directing the multi-axis arm to position the cutter adjacent to the location;
• directing the multi-axis arm to position the cutter based on the calculated rotational position so as to cut the accumulation at the reinforcement structure;
• and
• actuating the cutter to dislodge the accumulation from the material sorter.