Flexible robot-based disassembly cell for obsolete TV-sets and monitors

Disassembly is a developing field of application for automated components for processing electronic waste. The reasons behind its rapid development are changing legislation in favor of environmental protection because of a globally increasing amount of obsolete electronic products and growing public awareness of environmental problems. A prototype of a flexible robot based disassembly cell for obsolete TV-sets and monitors has been developed at PRIELOG Logistik GmbH and is currently being adapted to the demands of industry. Main parts of this system are a disassembly robot, a handling robot, an intelligent vision system as well as software far highly flexible online planning and control of the disassembly process. A detailed description of the disassembly cell and first results of industrial adaptation are introduced in this work. The results lead to optimized reactive planning algorithms as well as improved sensor systems and the usage of universal and flexible disassembly tools and fixtures. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.