Disassembly automation for lithium-ion battery systems using a flexible gripper

The integration of lithium ion battery technology in the automotive sector has increased enormously during the last years. Additionally, beside the production and operation of these battery systems the recycling has to be taken into account concerning the challenge of ecologic sustainability. An economical recycling depends on the possibility to mechanize or automate several disassembly steps in order to separate the valuable battery cells or active cell materials. Hence, this contribution presents the challenges of disassembly automation in the special context of lithium ion battery technology in general. Furthermore, a flexible gripper system is presented in detail to show how the disassembly process can be supported by automation. Next to the mechanical design of the gripper system, the control architecture and the integrated functionalities, such as voltage or resistance measurement, are described.