ImpulsTec’s fragmentation systems can be used for disassembly of complex devices such as mobile phones and laptops into components, for detaching of electronic components from printed circuit boards and the separation of components such as processors and tantalum capacitors into their different materials.
The homogeneous energy input of the shock wave process into the device leads to the break up of the assemblies at their mechanical weak points, which are typically joints and interfaces between different materials. This allows electronic equipment to be almost perfectly separated into their main components, such as frame parts, printed circuit boards, and other plastic or metal pieces.
The cell phone is disassembled at the joints and separated into main components such as (housing, circuit board, etc.) after just a few seconds of shock wave treatment.
The low-contamination shock wave fragmentation process is suitable for processes with high purity requirements. Due to the use of acoustic shock waves and the low level of contact compared to conventional fragmentation methods, metal contamination is kept to a minimum (<10 ppm) during the treatment process.
Due to the use of electrically generated shock waves, the shock wave fragmentation does not result in any form of direct mechanical interaction with the target materials, as in classical fragmentation methods, so that one can speak of a non-contact milling process. No contact with a solid state grinding body means there is also no increased wear during the processing of hard, abrasive materials. This makes it possible to efficiently process hard, abrasive materials without facing the problem of high wear. The shock wave method used by ImpulsTec generates comparatively few impurities due to erosion on the electrodes. In recent years, several different research projects allowed a significant amount of expertise to be gained in the low-contamination fragmentation of semiconductor materials and the processing of high-purity ceramics as well as glass products.
The high-purity fragmentation of ceramic monoliths and various glass products can be mentioned here as an example. The low-contamination shock wave process can be used to obtain high-purity reusable material fractions.
Non-contact fragmentation process
Efficient fragmentation of hard and abrasive materials
processing of materials with high purity standards
content of metal contamination <10 ppm can be achieved (depending on the required particle size)
High purity treatment of a ceramic monolith
Recovery of a high-purity glass fraction from solar modules
Due to its specific separation mechanism, the shock wave process, which provokes fractures on the crystallographic level at the interfaces of different materials, is particularly suitable for processing intermediate mining products and for crushing rock, minerals or slags with valuable ingredients.
The specific separation mechanism of shock wave technology has a particularly positive effect on rock processing, which provokes material fractures, preferably at the interfaces of materials with different acoustic properties. The selectivity of the fragmentation process on crystallographic (foreign) phases enables the efficient disintegration of different microstructures.
The process offers great potential for processing valuable mining products and minerals. Shock wave fragmentation technology is able to recover and concentrate the valuable materials contained in rocks. This technology could potentially improve the efficiency of conventional processing methods in future. Over the last few years the shock wave fragmentation process extended to industrial scale. We are continually expanding the scale of the technology and developing customer-specific solutions in collaboration with an expert network of national and international partners from every field.