5 questions about single-ram balers

1. What advantages does a single-ram baler deliver?

The single-ram baler has a higher capacity; it can bale more material during the same period of time than a II ram baler because the tying cycle is shorter. This also gives the benefit of having a consistent throughput which makes feeding easier for the loader operator or more stable for the automated feed systems.

Another big advantage is found in multi-materials processing plants such as single stream MRFs. Bunker management is made easier because you can tie bales of various lengths without sacrificing the density of the bale.

2. What are the primary consideration for increasing bale weight?

The density is increased by the compaction force. When choosing a baler, you must consider the dimension of the cylinder; a bigger cylinder will have a better compaction capacity. Also, a higher capacity hydraulic pump will play a role in the compaction force. Don’t forget that the design and conception of the extrusion chamber is critical.

The new generation of horizontal single ram balers include increased high capacity retention in the extrusion chamber and increased compaction capacity. With this new generation, the density obtained can easily be compared with those obtained with two ram balers without sacrificing the throughput. Higher density bales ultimately reduce wire cost, increase tare weight, and minimize the amount of bale storage needed.

3. How does a pre-press and shear combination increase efficiency?

The pre-press is a very interesting technology since the pre-compaction increases the volumetric efficiency of the baler when baling fluffy material or those having flow characteristics similar to plastics which haven’t been pre-conditioned.

The addition of a shear blade eliminates the potential jams of the pre-press when baling large products like commercial cardboard. With these type materials, eliminating the operation of the pre-press results in reduced cycle time and increase throughput when baling other materials like smaller cardboard, mixed paper, news, or perforated containers.

The combination of a pre-press flap and shear baler brings the best of both worlds as you can comfortably bale many materials regardless of their density and eliminate the jam. Further, the pre-press will reduce wear on the knives and shear blade.

4. What does a pre-fill valve do on the hydraulics system?

The pre-fill valve increases the main ram cycle speed in both forward and reverse modes. This device allows to reach higher throughput than regular baler with significantly less energy consumption. The baler can obtain an increased speed up to two and a half the speed of a traditional regenerative circuit for the same flow at the pumps. This reduces cycle time and increases energy efficiency.

5. What type to choose between horizontal and vertical tie?

The vertical tie has a reduced footprint than a horizontal tie but the horizontal tying mechanism is easier to maintain being at the operator level. Horizontally tied bales are easier to manipulate by the fork-lift operators. Tying mechanisms which disengage the twisters from the needles path allows material caught during the needle travels to drop away from the twister resulting in lower wear and greater tying success.