Katya places her fingertips into the open bay of her newly finished machine, nails up. Her fingers slide into slots which lightly clamp the digits in place, leaving the nails exposed. A machine vision camera surveys the fingertips, carefully measuring the cuticle.

A small but precise robot arm moves into position above the first nail. It is equipped with a fine sanding disk, which begins to spin. As is descends on the nail, a pump floods the sanding disk with water. This serves to both flush keratin dust from the sander, and keep the nail bed cool.

The sander sands each nail smooth while conforming to natural curves and contours, thanks to the machine vision. Now finished, the robot arm flips over to use its next implement: a buffing wheel. A syringe dispenses a small amount of abrasive paste on the wheel, which then repeats its path along the nails.

A final wash removes any remaining dust, and an air blower gently dries the nails. The clamp release, and Katya slowly withdraws her hands for inspection. Her nails shine beautifully.

Without tiny scratches, the keratin exhibits a natural lustre all on its own. There is no paint to chip off, and no fumes from toxic solvents. Katya is most pleased.
-- Aq_Bi, Dec 11 2015

The pressures we robots are under these days are not to be believed.

"Small, but precise". It's this kind of thing that leads to robot fueling disorders such as anorexia and bulemia. And what use is precision without accuracy and reliability ?
-- normzone, Dec 11 2015


Thins and weakens the nails.
-- pocmloc, Dec 12 2015


Whoever this Katya is, [Aq Bi], you seem to have an unsavoury obsession.

//a nicely textured coating that can also iridesce.// Now there is an awesome idea. A diffraction grating could be engraved into the polished nail.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Dec 12 2015


What exactly is unsavoury about a desire for pretty nails? I may have a robot building obsession, but I savour it fondly.
-- Aq_Bi, Dec 14 2015



random, halfbakery