On designing an automated tool for capacitors removal from waste printed circuits boards

Abstract

The mass electronics sector is one of the most important sources of waste, both in terms of volume and materials content with dangerous effects on the environment. Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) are the most valuable component embedded into Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEEs). The current amount of electronic systems is impressive while manual dismantling is a very common and non-efficient solution. On average, waste PCB accounts almost from 3% to 5% of the overall weight of waste electrical and electronic equipment. At this time, in Romania, the implemented solutions for waste PCB reduction are in a research phase, with no existing technological procedures that can be replicated. In the context of the TRADE-IT project we aim to design replicable architectures for waste printed boards reduction. Starting from the largest base plate and continuing to the smallest size, Extended ATX, ATX, Micro ATX, Mini ITX are some of the most used boards in a computer. When choosing a base plate from the ATX and/or microATX range, the shape factor must fit on a universal support bracket. The shape factor identifies the size of the circuit board, the location of the slots, and the location of the display board that comes out on the back of the computer. The shape factor also identifies the location of the holes that are used to mount the base plate in the universal clamp holder. Taking into account that capacitors represent approximately 8.6% of the PCB mass, we aim at designing an automated driven tool for their removal. The design is based on a robotic arm for motion manoeuvring, a programmable screwdriver and a custom-made end tool. In the current phase the proposed design was evaluated on controlled individual tests. The initial results highlight the feasibility of the proposed design while uncovering potential challenges for real-time implementation.