This is very cool. Re-use of these sorts of parts is already done in terrible conditions in developing countries, with parts re-entering the supply chain as counterfeits or sold as 'new'. But you probably won't see this accepted by manufacturers until there is a reliable way to identify parts, and identify if they are fakes or reused parts. Even then, it will probably take regulations from Europe to bring it into force, like with lead-free solder. And like with the mandate to use recyclable plastic in cars, the first generation will probably also have a higher failure rate.

Awesome stuff. I still have a desktop computer from 2001 that I haven't gotten rid off. (Too lazy!) It'd be nice if future logic boards could be melted down / dissolved in some way.

Imagine biodegradable (or easily recyclable) tablets. You could upgrade every few years without feeling the guilt of leaving an old iPad gathering dust on your bookshelf.

From the article:

  [The] technology allows a staggering 90% of the original structure to be re-used.
  For comparison, less than 2% of traditional PCB material can be re-used.

Why recycle an old iPad after a few years? That device is very much still usable and should be donated to someone or some organization, as is.

This is pretty cool.

For general purpose components, this would be nice for only a few of them. As parts get smaller, markings are less common, and if you have a few parts spill out and mix, testing them may be the only way to figure out what is what.

Resistors >= 1206 have identifying resistance markers. Most resistors on boards are smaller, 0806, 0402, 0201, and do not have markings. You would have to manually test the resistors to see what their values are. They don't have power ratings anywhere, only resistance ratings.

Capacitors don't have markings. Transistors don't have markings, and about the only thing you could do would be to test the pin configuration and check if it's an NPN or a PNP.

ICs generally do have markings, unless they are smaller and have either an impossible to read laser inscription (even under a microscope, you have to have the light hit it just right to read what the part is) or no markings at all. ICs are also the big ticket items on a board, and it's almost impossible to get a 32 pin IC off with a soldering iron. If I could splash some water on and grab it, that would be cool.

If you made all your own boards, knew the parts that went onto them, thought it was worth the ~80 cents of resistors, capacitors, transistors, and selectively removed components, you could be in for a treat.

But, this is still awesome. As a hobbyist, I would rather just buy some new components so I have them all in a strip in a bag that has the part numbers, and the values. As a recycler though, this is amazing. Instead of having to reflow everything and liberate all the parts, I can grab all the ICs and transistors, melt them down and regain the metals used.

It might not be worth it to do it yet, but saving hundreds of circuit boards would take up a bit of space. The board itself is likely >90% of the space. I want the 10% that has the parts on it. I can stash these for later when a more economical way of getting the metals out comes around.

So my computer was overheating and I accidentally spilled water onto it. Will I end up in a scary situation where I have to pick each component separately ..

The technology may not be useful for every situation, but still its something what we need right now.

I think a better comparison would be that you accidentally submersed your computer for several minutes in scalding hot water.

Isn't it safe to say that if you spill water on your computer, it's trashed regardless of whether it was overheating?

This is not recycling, its reusing, as per the name. If a component is damaged you still have to recycle it... But seems ok for hobbyists that want to change things fast, and prototypes