A systematic approach to define the reuse process of printed circuit board's components

Reuse is an alternative to extend functional life of products, delaying its introduction into the recycling process. The main objective of this work is to present an automated approach to support the decision about the best way to disassemble electronic components in printed circuit boards (PCBs), in a non-destructive and selective mode. PCBs coming from production rejection may contain valuable and working parts, reusable in different applications with an affordable cost. In addition, removal of potentially hazardous and toxic components is taken into account. An automated dismantling station has been developed as a prototype, to assess the technical and economical feasibility of the process at an industrial scale. Toxic and potentially hazardous components have been extracted and managed according to European directives. First steps include the study of the most suitable PCBs and identification of components. Simulation is applied to decide the best method to extract parts in an automatic way, dealing with the geometry of the components, their location within the PCB, the method used for their soldering to the PCB surface, etc. Next steps deal with the design and construction of the decided solution, composed of an automatic handling device, desoldering and extracting system and functional verification of recovered components.