Innovative machining technologies and tools for the disassembly of consumer goods

Ecologically harmless disposal of used technical consumer products will become mandatory for their producers, as well as for importing companies. This disposal policy will focus on product and material loops: Used products will be disassembled and the parts and materials then recycled. Due to environmental and legislative reasons the importance of disassembly as an important step in the process of recycling is steadily rising. The paper presents developed technologies and tools for the disassembly of consumer products. An automatic pilot disassembly system is realised for testing the disassembly of washing machines. The aim is to recover materials and re-use components. Different destructive processes such as plasma arc cutting, water jet cutting, drilling and abrasive cutting were optimised to disassemble washing machines, especially to dismantle the cases. A new cryogenic cutting tool will be developed for the disassembly of metal and plastic parts.