Automotive disassembly

H.-J. Wamecke, M. Kahrmeyer, and R. Rupprecht, Automotive Disassembly - A New Strategic and Technologic Approach in proceedings of RECY 94, Erlangen, Germany, pp. 224-233 (1994). 

Large parts can require considerable power requirements. Resistance welding has been applied to complex joints in automotive applications, including vehicle bumpers and panels, and joints in plastic pipe, and in medical devices. Resistance wire welding is not restricted to flat surfaces. If access to the heating element is possible, repair of badly bonded joints is possible, and joints can be disassembled in a reverse process to which they were made. 

The automotive industry has also directed efforts toward improving the recyclahUity of automotive plastics by change in automobile design. Efforts include designing components for ease of disassembly, as well as efforts to minimize the use of different resins and to ensure that all resins in a component are compatible with one another. One of the reasons for these changes, in addition to voluntary actions by manufacturers, is requirements in Europe that mandate that the auto industry provide a system for collection and recycling of vehicles at the end of their life. Currently, 74 to 80 percent of the weight of a typical vehicle is reused or recycled the End of Life Vehicle Directive requires that this amount be increased to 80 percent by 2006 and 85 percent by 2015. Furthermore, vehicles must increase their use of recycled materials. ... 

Automated disassembly of electronic and automotive products would be of considerable benefit to the mechanical recycling of plastics fractions. The results of a Delphi Study [3] provided an indication of the full or partial technical feasibility and economic viability of automated disassembly. 

Boks, C.B. and Tempelman, E. (1997) Delphi Study on fixture disassembly and recycling technology for the electronics and automotive Industries. Internal document code K370, Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, Delft University of Technology. 

New developments in polyolefin-based materials have created a family of polypropylene products with a wide range of physical properties, including the ability to be easily recycled. When utilized by automotive and product designers as a part of a design for disassembly strategy, these compatible materials will vield large sub-assemblies that can be reclaimed with a minimum of handling. 

---