Maximising material recovery from end-of-life electric traction motors via disassembly

This study presents a disassembly strategy for end-of-life electric drive units, focusing on the selective extraction of rotor cores containing rare earth permanent magnets for recycling and remanufacturing. Using Tesla Model Y drive unit as a case study, manual disassembly was conducted to identify technical challenges and define process requirements for automation, with particular emphasis on component accessibility and damage-free separation. A systematic disassembly map was developed to capture component hierarchies, joining methods, and tooling requirements, enabling robotic simulation of automated disassembly. The results indicate that custom tooling has the potential to substantially reduce reliance on manual operations and decrease processing time from hours to minutes, thereby improving operational efficiency. The proposed strategy could potentially enhance material recovery, minimise contamination, and support circular economy principles. Future work will focus on developing flexible robotic systems capable of handling diverse motor variants to improve scalability and industrial implementation.