The DiskMantler Suite: data destruction and rare-earth recycling in one line

When an organisation retires a large number of hard drives, data security comes first: the data must be gone before the drives leave the building or enter the recycling chain. But a hard drive holds more than data. Inside are aluminium, circuit boards, copper, steel and neodymium magnets. Recovering those materials is becoming more important as demand for critical raw materials grows.

What the DiskMantler Suite does

The Garner DiskMantler Suite links two machines into one line:

• the DeMAG, a multi-pulse degausser that erases the drive and demagnetises its magnets;
• the vertical DiskMantler, which takes the drive apart with controlled shock and vibration instead of cutting or shredding it.

Feeder, transfer slide and conveyors move the drives through the line. The housing, circuit board, platters, voice coil and magnets come out as separate components, ready to be sorted.

The principle: destroy the data, keep the materials.

Why rare earths matter

Rare-earth elements are used in electric motors, wind turbines, electronics and permanent magnets. Neodymium magnets are strong for their size, which is why hard drives contain them. Supply is concentrated in a few countries. According to the European Commission, the EU does not mine rare-earth elements itself and imports almost all of its rare-earth magnets from China.

The EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act names permanent magnets as strategic and includes rules on the recyclability and recycled content of magnets. End-of-life magnets are expected to become an important source.

Shredding versus dismantling

Shredding reduces volume quickly, but mixes magnets, circuit board, aluminium and steel into one stream that needs further separation. Magnets that are still magnetic also pull steel fragments with them. Dismantling first, after demagnetising, keeps the streams separate and the magnets recoverable.

Data security first

Recycling must never come at the expense of information security. In the Suite, the DeMAG erases each drive before it is dismantled. Garner gives a field of up to 4 T (40 000 gauss) and a cycle of about 45 seconds per drive in its 2026 brochure. For a record per drive, the line can be combined with IRONCLAD verification.

Is it for you?

The Suite suits ITAD companies, recyclers and data centres that process hard drives in volume and want to recover materials. For smaller volumes, a single DiskMantler after a degausser can be enough. Ask us which set-up fits your volumes.