A new strategy for a flexible semi-automatic disassembling cell of printed circuit boards

The aim of the project is the development of a disassembly cell, which guarantees a semi-automatic disassembly of printed circuit boards (PCBs) for the reuse of electronic components and to improve the working conditions. The development should be a modular system, especially the hardware and user oriented software. The automatic disassembly of printed circuit boards is recognized as a main task in the recycling process of a product. The conventional method to disassemble PCBs is very expensive and time consuming, as it has to be done manually. One of the biggest problems to take into consideration in case of selective disassembly is, that the design for disassembly requires new fields of knowledge. This new field in product design shall not create extra costs in the design process, so powerful tools are needed to make the process easier and faster. Therefore a modular disassembly cell with basic functions is developed. This article describes a semi-automatic scheme using levels of hierarchic control and distribution of the operation of information. The most significant point is the use of a very flexible CC/PLC (control computer/programmable logic controllers) control philosophy instead of the use of a disassembly cell.