Ecker, J., Liska, R., & Stampfl, J. (2024, September 24). Towards Circular Electronics: Design for Disassembly Enabled by Multi-Material 3D Printing [Conference Presentation]. Material Science and Engineering MSE 2024, Darmstadt, Germany.
E308-02-2 - Forschungsgruppe Werkstoffe und Additive Fertigung E163-02-1 - Forschungsgruppe Polymerchemie und Technologie
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Date (published):
24-Sep-2024
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Event name:
Material Science and Engineering MSE 2024
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Event date:
24-Sep-2024 - 26-Sep-2024
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Event place:
Darmstadt, Germany
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Keywords:
Design for Disassembly; Additive Manufacturing; 3D printing; DLP; Recycling
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Abstract:
The increasing population has led to a higher demand for electronic devices, including consumer electronics and batteries, with improved performance. However, higher production rates require additional resources and generates more electronic waste overall. Critical factors such as noble metals or rare earth elements, which are used for such components, are limited in availability. Especially the miniaturization of the architecture of electronic devices is a crucial factor for their low recycle rates. Assembling all materials in a small space makes it difficult to separate them properly. Yet, to ensure proper recycling, all individual materials should be collected as thoroughly as possible. Therefore, new recycling strategies must be developed to address both the issue of higher waste production and the conservation of valuable resources.
Additive manufacturing (better known as 3D printing) can help address this issue due to its advantages to print structures in the m range and print multi-material compounds [1]. Therefore, 3D printing enables the implementation of the Design for Disassembly concept, which should be utilised to manufacture compounds that can be easily separated and recycled.
This work presents a multi-material approach that uses 3D printing as a processing method to create compounds with an internal weak spot. This weak spot can be triggered by a thermal impulse to dismantle the printed compounds. The aim is to facilitate the recovery of materials inside electronic devices. To test the influence of the weak spot on the whole component, several (thermo)mechanical tests were performed, and different directions to insert the layer (printing orientation) were investigated. Therefore, we selected a hard matrix (Material A) as the base and a Disassembly material (DfD), which worked as the thermolabile weak spot of the component. Additionally, Thermally Expandable Microspheres (TEMs) were incorporated to enable the easy disassembly process. TEMs are microscope small capsules, which can expand up to 60x its original volume. By increasing the temperature, the DfD material can undergo a transition from a glassy to a rubbery state, allowing the TEMs to fully expand. The successful separation of the compounds was achieved through a combination of adhesive failure between Material A and the DfD material, and cohesive failure within the DfD material caused by the TEMs.
To demonstrate this concept, we printed a self-designed Molex cable connector and dismantled it at 200°C within seconds, without requiring additional force (Figure 1).