RecyGlass, a low-cost system for recycling glass bottles in a distinctive way

Abstract

Traditional glass recycling processes exhibit difficulties when it comes to segregating carefully the glass material by type and color. Having this in mind, new recycling alternatives that avoid this stage in the entire process have arisen. Nevertheless, they are still dangerous for operators or novel users. To surpass both problems, this paper presents in detail the mechanical, electronic and control design and implementation of RecyGlass, a low-cost autonomous glass recycling machine with 6 different sub-systems: clamping, rotational, translational, cutting, polishing, and serigraphy. Real and 3D model images are used to present in a better way the design and result of the RecyGlass project in its different design levels. Finally, this work also analyses, in the conclusion section, the energy consumption of our alternative compared to traditional glass recycling processes.