Liam iPhone Disassembly System 
Apple

The typical industry practice for recycling electronic devices is known as shredding, where a whole or partially disassembled device is broken into smaller pieces for easy segregation. But with modern devices consisting of up to 60 different materials, the shredding process makes it difficult to sort and segregate the individual materials. Apple is addressing this problem with Liam, an automated disassembly system for the iPhone 6, consisting of 29 robots in 21 cells. Robots manipulate and disassemble the iPhone into eight separate pieces, or material streams, for more effective end-processing of the components. Right now, there are two Liam systems in use—one in the U.S. and one in the Netherlands—but this project is a good demonstration of Apple’s commitment to managing electronic waste.