About 90 tonnes of metal is recycled and reused each and every year. Scrap metal shredders are ideal for recycling metals and other materials that are recyclable. These machines are available in different types and brands on the market. Before you decide to invest in these machines, it is important to have the full information, including the price range.
This article will discuss the different equipment used in scrap metal shredding and how to select suitable scrap metal shredders. Also, it will talk about the process of scrap metal recycling.
Table of Contents
Equipment used for scrap metal shredding
Scrap metal recycling process
How to select the right scrap metal shredders
Summary
Equipment used for scrap metal shredding
1. Quad shaft shredder
A quad-shaft shredder is used in shredding operations that require uniformly-sized waste metallic materials. It is a slow-speed shredder with a considerably high torque that gives high performance and durability. Basically, the highly efficient blades of the four-shaft shredder minimize the chances of multiple re-shredding.
2. Shear shredder
A shear shredder is basically used in shredding materials like scrap tires, metals, electronics, or papers. The machine uses four powerful motors that shred and process the metallic material being fed into it. It has the capability to reduce the size of the input material substances. The shear shredder is cost-effective due to its extremely low operation costs.
3. Dual-shaft shredder
Dual-shaft shredders are built for prolonged durability, reliability, and efficiency. The machines use high-performing double blades to shred metal objects to the required size. This reduces multiple re-shredding.
Scrap metal recycling process
The scrap metal recycling process involves turning recyclable scrap metal into more useful metal. The metals are recovered and processed because they cannot be used as a product. They are recycled and can serve the purpose of raw materials for other production operations.
The step-by-step process of recycling scrap metals includes:
– Preparation: A place where potential scrap metals can be collected is spotted, for instance, a scrapyard.
– Collection: By use of convenient scrap metal collectors, the metals are transported to the recycling plant.
– Sorting: Through visual identification, electric currents, magnets, and spectrometer, products with mixed metals are dismantled and separated.
– Processing into desired forms: The metals are prepared by torching and shredding, and are balled to the required sizes.
– Melting and refining: This involves separating impurities from the metals through melting and additional refining processes like electrolysis.
– Solidifying: Metals are solidified based on the required shape for the end products like sheets, bars, and coils.
– Manufacturing: Recycled scrap metals are used to make end products in industries like robotics and the consumer goods sectors.
How to select the right scrap metal shredders
1. Material to be processed
Generally, different types of scrap metal shredders work well at processing specific types of materials. For instance, shredding cars would require the use of a hammer mill. Primarily, the shears of the machines extrude each other as they shred scrap metals into flakes to meet the requirements. Large-scale scrap metal shredders improve production capacity and crushing efficiency, and have a wide scope of applications. The hard metals that can be processed by scrap metal shredders include steel tiles, paint drums, oil drums, car shells, and motorcycle engine shells. Also, the shredding process requires versatility and a minimal amount of noise and dust which can be achieved easily by a twin-shaft shredder.
2. Cost
The cost of metal shredding machines is affected by various factors. Some of these factors include the size of the crushed material, capacity requirements, and materials to be shredded. Generally, the price of industrial scrap metal shredding equipment starts at around USD 20,000. Buyers should consider their production requirements and the allocated budget as they acquire metal shredders. Moreover, the cost of potential accessories and maintenance should be taken into account.
3. Capacity
On an average basis, metal shredders come in various sizes. Huge models can efficiently operate at 10,000 horsepower while shredding up to 4,000 tons of metallic materials a day. Based on the type of material being processed, most metal shredders provide capacities between 1.5 and 3.5 tons per hour and contain a screen that is used to separate the output material. The capacity of a shredder is limited to the size of the cutting chamber. Buyers should carefully check the capacity rating and give allowance for excess capacity.
4. Desired output
Buyers should understand the output size requirement to aid in determining the kind of equipment to invest in. The output size is dependent on the thickness of the shafts. Averagely, the output sizes of the treated material range between 50 mm and 80 mm. The output size can be adjusted based on the requirements of the smelting furnaces. It is worth noting that some facilities need scrap metal to be separated whilst others require grinding and re-shredding. Also, compaction equipment may be required in cases where materials have to be reduced to very small sizes.
5. Usability
Understanding the usability of a scrap metal shredder is of utmost importance. In this case, buyers can determine the amount of metal to be shredded and the frequency of work. The appropriate metal shredding machines should be utilized optimally to eliminate the maximum amount of waste metals in one go. Also, factors like portability, noise, and safety should be considered when selecting a scrap metal shredder. Some materials being processed can be hazardous, for instance, dust and other airborne particles.
6. Available space
Buyers should start by selecting a proper location for their shredding tasks. Basically, some shredders are not easy to move because they weigh heavily. For instance, some hammer mills weigh between 250 and 1000 pounds. Buyers should ensure that the size of the scrap metal shredders fits in the spaces where they intend to store them. It is important to measure the dimensions of the equipment before purchasing it. Most metal shredders range between 45*50 m to 120*120 m in size.
Summary
Just like other industrial machines, scrap metal shredders endure high levels of stress. As buyers invest in scrap metal shredders, they should mainly consider the needs of their production lines and other factors as mentioned in the above guide. To find greater performance and highly efficient scrap metal shredding machines, visit Alibaba.com.
