A global problem: Non-destructive separation of bonded connections

Partial cooling, for instance to -50°C or lower, is difficult to achieve. Using liquid nitrogen can be difficult due to the very low temperature involved, resulting in a high potential for danger. However, previously available cooling processes using carbon dioxide could only generate temperatures well above -40°C. This temperature is not sufficient to make bonded areas brittle, which would allow bonded parts to be separated mechanically.

SplitMaster uses a specialised process to cool surfaces quickly and efficiently to temperatures as low as -70°C. Carbon dioxide is generally used to achieve the cooling. Partial cooling is also possible. Being able to reach such low temperatures quickly has advantages, for instance in cleaning contaminated surfaces and separating bonded parts. The bonded areas of the components are made brittle by the freezing temperatures, allowing them to be separated mechanically without destroying them.

In addition, using the process in refrigeration systems, for instance those with two circuits, can greatly improve efficiency. Other applications for the new mycon SplitMaster process include specialised cleaning applications. It can also be used in mechanical engineering, for instance for shrinking parts.

Automotive industry, railway industry, aviation industry, mechanical engineering, electronics, plastics industry: Component bonding has become extremely important in many fields.

Video – SplitMaster

mycon collaborated with the University of Paderborn and the Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences to develop the “Bonded part separation” process. The two universities have collaborated for many years with automotive manufacturers / suppliers on damage-free separation of bonded parts. Part bonding is used in almost all industrial sectors thanks to the significant advantages it offers, such as weight savings.

However, it has been difficult to find a fault-free freezing process that can be used to separate these bonds by using low temperatures to make them brittle. SplitMaster, the new cooling process from mycon, is designed to address this problem. The bonded surface is cooled quickly, causing the adhesive to become brittle and making it easy to separate mechanically.

The new SplitMaster mycon process facilitates destruction-free separation of bonded parts. This makes repairs and recycling of bonded parts more economical.

The process also creates new options for recycling parts such as vehicle batteries:  Destruction-free separation of bonded areas generally allows the bonded parts to be reused. As tests have shown, it is not always necessary to remove the adhesive layer before re-gluing the parts. Bonding them again on the existing layer of adhesive resulted in at least the same structural strength as bonding to the actual material.

mycon is offering all potential buyers the opportunity to test out separating bonded surfaces using customer parts. The parts will be provided free of charge after separation to any potential buyer along with documentation (images and text, with brief videos if possible). Potential buyers will pay only transportation costs.