Sorting System for e-Waste Recycling using Contour Vision Sensors

Recycling old electronic components facilitates the recovery of valuable materials that can be used to produce new ones. As a result, energy is saved, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions are reduced, and many natural resources are salvaged by extracting fewer raw materials. The paper focuses on rapid sorting method developed for separating the dismembered components of a personal computers motherboard. After a simultaneous disassembly process of the board, some of the components like plastics, silicon chips, surface-mount devices and magnetic components need to be intelligently sorted, therefore economically separated. In the sorting process a conveyor belt was used to transport the components one by one. A contour vision sensor was used to acquire and process the images, consequently to recognize the components. The visual sensor binary code output is connected to a Mitsubishi FX3G programmable logic controller. Finally, electro pneumatic valves with directional air flow control are used to position the objects from the conveyor belt into separate bins.