Watch a recycling machine dismantle old hard drives to recycle components

Traditional hard drives often contain useful components. But disassembling them manually is too labor-intensive. As it stands, old hard drives tend to go through shredders, and whether there’s anything usable after this process is usually down to luck. A company called Garner Products claims that its DiskMantler offers a better solution.

This machine (made by technical art) uses a mix of shock, harmonics, and vibration to shake the hard drive. The process loosens screws and other fasteners (regardless of the type of fastener used) to release parts such as circuit boards, drive assemblies, actuators and rare earth magnets. The process reportedly takes between 8 and 90 seconds for most hard drives, and about two minutes for soldered helium drives.

DiskMant appears to be able to dismantle up to 500 hard drives per day, but only about one-fifth of the electronic waste on the planet. So, for now at least, Ghana’s recycling efforts may seem a bit like a drop in the ocean. However, if the company can help recycle valuable parts like rare earth magnets without having to break them down into their elements and start the production process all over again, that’s certainly a net positive.