Baler Supplement -- Several Ways to Bale

If one asks a ferrous scrap processor and a discount store stock clerk to describe a baler, one would probably get two very different answers.

Balers in the yards of large scrap metal processors can be combination baler/shear/logger machines costing in excess of $1 million. At the other end of the market, small vertical balers can be found in the stock rooms of retail stores that compress torn-down corrugated boxes for further processing by large paper-packing operations.

It should also be noted that within many baler categories, there are innovations taking place that blur the line between former distinctions among the several baler design categories.

FERROUS BALERS

Rugged ferrous balers are ideal for compressing steel scrap into 24-inch cubes and other sizes for shipment to the mill. Normally it takes about one minute to produce an 800-pound-plus cube that can be stacked more neatly than loose scrap. “It’s always easier to visually see what you have and what you are shipping with bales,” says one manufacturer.

Ferrous balers and their cousins, shear-balers, can come in several configurations – two or three-compression, with or without an attached crane, portable or stationary, and with different ways of pre-staging the material.

In a two-compression model, one side or winged door squeezes the scrap in addition to the main ram. In a three-compression configuration, both sides or wing doors squeeze along with the main ram, or one side, a top lid and the main ram.

The shear-baler is a workhorse combination that gives a smaller yard the flexibility to shear or bale scrap. Manufacturers say that shear-balers can complement virtually any setup, as some can have shearing capacities from eight to 20 tons an hour and can bale ten to 25 tons and hour. Besides flexibility, the other big benefit of a shear-baler combination is its price, as processors are able to get two machines with one purchase.      

TWO-RAM BALERS

Two-ram horizontal balers combine the high capacity of a single-ram open-end baler with the flexibility, toughness and precision of a single-ram closed-end one. In this configuration, one ram compresses the material against a wall and into the path of a second ram. As the second ram pushes the material out, it forms a bale, is tied off and continues out of the baler. “It’s really a good baler to have in a multi-material facility,” says one manufacturer, “because it can bale paper, plastic bottles, steel or aluminum cans, OCC and light-to-medium extrusions.”

Two-rams also have inherently large infeed hoppers because of the two-ram configuration, which helps them handle OCC and other bulky materials. They can bale as much as 50 tons of paper per hour, depending on the paper grade and the density of the feedstock.

Two-ram balers often use more energy than single-ram models, although energy use is tied primarily to the motor’s horsepower. Perhaps the single biggest drawback to the baler’s design is its bale size limitation—two-ram balers can usually only make one size of bale. (This drawback can also be seen as an advantage, since it means the creation of uniform sized bales time after time, which can be ideal for shipping.) Some models, however, have a door near the ejection nozzle that allows the operator to clamp a partially-made bale so that it can be finished off as an odd-size bale.

SINGLE-RAM BALERS

Determining the type of baler that is best suited for an operation first requires a hard look at what types of materials are to be processed, and at what frequency. Operations that bale paper grades, for instance, can use four different types of balers: open-end horizontal, single-ram open or closed-end, two-ram and vertical balers.

Horizontal, single-ram open-end balers are high capacity balers that can deliver up to 70 tons per hour throughput with certain paper grades. They can also bale used beverage cans, old corrugated cardboard and plastic bottles. The high capacity of the single-ram, open-end baler is a result of the baler’s design, which includes an extrusion chamber and automatic wire tying system that continuously pushes out bales. This setup normally eliminates the need for a full-time operator.

Due to the extrusion chamber, the operator can easily vary the length of the bale to fit shipping needs. They can thus finish off one type of material and then start another type with little cross contamination between grades. “You have a lot of flexibility with this type of baler,” says another manufacturer. “It can be the cornerstone of your operation.”

The sister of the horizontal, single-ram open-end baler is the horizontal, single-ram closed-end baler. While the open-end one has an extrusion chamber, the closed-end baler does not. Normally, the bale is made by compressing the material against a door or wall of the baling chamber. Because of this design, these are low capacity balers. The bale normally has to be tied off manually, and the door has to be opened after each bale is finished so that the bale can be ejected. This door can be at the end of the baling chamber, or to the side. Only then, after the door is closed again, can baling begin. The average capacity of a closed-end baler is around five tons an hour of paper.

The benefits of a closed-end baler include being able to also bale light extrusions, and to produce exact bales that are very uniform and squared off.

VERTICAL BALERS

Vertical, or downstroke balers, are typically low-capacity balers that come in a variety of sizes. The average capacity of a vertical baler is about three to five tons per hour of paper. Because of their simple operation, they are used widely in places such as department store stock rooms and grocery stores that need to control OCC.

Encore Systems, Grand Rapids, Minn., is making vertical balers with two cylinders that are being marketed to scrap tire recyclers. The resulting rubber cubes have found uses in retaining walls and other civil engineering applications.

Small-scale recyclers and scrap yards also use the balers to handle side materials that pile up over a period of time – materials that do not warrant a high-capacity baler. Vertical balers can also handle a wide range of materials including light-to-medium extrusions.

SEVERAL CHOICES

There are several areas that a recycler should consider before making a purchase. These are determining the type of baler needed, the automation of the baler, its capacity, the sizes of bales produced, the efficiency of the baler (both power consumption and wire usage), safety features, manufacturer reputation, baler design, and, finally, cost.

No matter what type of baler you may be thinking of purchasing, manufacturers and most processors will agree that there is one area where a recycler should not scrimp: capacity. “Buy bigger than you think you need,” suggests one manufacturer. “It’s easier to add more material than to add another baler.”