Innovative Machine Rapidly Disassembles Hard Drives for Improved Rare Earth Magnet Recycling
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The DiskMantler is a machine that disassembles hard drives by violently shaking them, separating components for recycling.
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It can process 500 hard drives per day, using vibrations to loosen screws and break apart drives in seconds.
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Hard drive recycling is important for recovering rare earth magnets, which are increasingly used in tech but rarely recycled.
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Hard drive magnet recycling startup HyProMag extracts magnets robotically then recycles the rest, avoiding costly reprocessing.
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259 million hard drives were shipped in 2021; improved recycling could recover substantial rare earth elements at scale.