Preliminary investigations of active disassembly using shape memory polymers

This paper reports initial results in the application of shape memory polymer (SMP) technology to the active disassembly of electronic products. The smart material SMP of polyurethane (PU) composition was employed. Created for these experiments were novel SMP releasable fasteners, with which it is possible to effectively disassemble products at specific triggering temperatures at the end of their life (EoL). This disassembly technique is termed active disassembly using smart materials (ADSM), and has been successfully demonstrated on a variety of products using other smart materials. Whilst developed primarily as a universal disassembly technique, cost effectiveness is apparent. Heat sources of +70, +100 and +225°C were employed to raise the releasable fasteners above their trigger temperatures: in the case of SMP this would be the glass transition temperature (Tg). The development of releasable fasteners and applications in electronic products is described