Why And How Can Old PCBs Be Recycled?

10 Sep Why And How Can Old PCBs Be Recycled?

Electronic waste is one of the fastest growing, and is becoming the largest type of waste produced on earth today. This includes left over components from electronics; with almost every electronic comprising of one common component – PCB. One way to stop this is by recycling these components to prevent wastage. The PCBs can be removed from the appliances and reused to build a new circuit. This blog will let you know how this can be done.

What all is needed?

To remove and recycle the components, all you need is a set of pliers, a soldering iron, a vice grip or third hand, and a desoldering pump.

How to remove and reuse the PCBs?

First of all, the PCB is removed by de-screwing the appliance. Next, the PCB is horizontally held with a vice grip or third hand, with the solder side facing front. Then, the components are removed. For this, a soldering iron is used. It is made hot, and then the tip is put on the solder of the component to melt it so that the components can be removed. However, care must be taken so that the components do not become excessively hot, or else they may blow up! If the lead of the pliers with which the component is held is long enough, an alligator clip is put between the component and joint, which takes up much of the heat generated by the iron; thus preventing risks.

To get bigger components out, a special desoldering tool with a pump is used. The lead is heated, and when the solder is melting, the pump is put close and the button is hot to suck up the solder, which will bring out the solder. But, care must be taken as the solder pump has a plastic tip, which must be kept away from the soldering iron. The same technique is used to remove all the components, which brings out lots of them! These could include switches, capacitors, audio sockets, resistors, LEDs, transistors, TV plugs, motors, and screws.

With all these parts in hand, those that can be recycled are taken up for recycling. These could be plastic panels and metal cases. Or, they can be stored for further projects.

What are the recycled components used for?

With desoldered components, many things can be built like robots, or computer bugs with few resistors and capacitors. Components can be recognized by looking at the symbols underneath, which can then be tallied with the schematic symbols on the internet, which will help identify which component it is.

If recycling PCB is not something that would interest you, and if you are looking for the best quality new PCB assembly from India, you can get in touch with Miracle Aerospace. Here, you can get the best PCB assemblies manufactured in our facilities equipped with surface mount technology lines and plated-through-holes lines, where we provide EMS capabilities of product designing, system designing, value engineering, manufacturing, and logistics.