Semi-automated PCB Disassembly Station

The main aim of the FENIX project is the development of new business models and industrial strategies for three novel supply chains in order to enable value-added product-services. Through a set of success stories coming from the application of circular economy principles in different industrial sectors, FENIX wants to demonstrate in practice the real benefits coming from its adoption. In addition, Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) will be integrated within the selected processes to improve the efficient recovery of secondary resources. In this sense, among the available KETs, the adoption of digital and advanced automated solutions allows companies to re-thinking their business strategies, trying to cope with even more severe environmental requirements. Among these technological solutions, the paradigm of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) is the most popular. I4.0 entails the development of a new concept of economic policy based on high-tech strategies and internet-connected technologies allowing the creation of added-value for organizations and society. Unlike the activities developed in T3.1, related to the development and implementation of simulation tools and models for the smartphones’ disassembly process optimization, here the attention has been spent in managing and optimizing a new semi-automated PCBs disassembly station. The disassembly of products is a key process in the treatment of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. When performed efficiently, it enables the maximization of resources re-usage and a minimization of pollution. Within the I4.0 paradigm, collaborative robots (co-bots in short) can safely interact with humans and learn from them. This flexibility makes them suitable for supporting current CE practices, especially during disassembly and remanufacturing operations. D3.2 focuses on describing the semi-automated PCB disassembly process implemented at the POLIMI’s Industry 4.0 Lab, aiming to demonstrate in practice the benefits of exploiting I4.0 technologies in PCB disassembly processes. Results highlight how a semi-automated cell where operators and cobots works together can allow a better management of both repetitive and specific activities, the safe interaction of cobots with operators and the simple management of the high variability related with different kinds of PCBs.