Hanging Around

The grapple plays an integral role in the scrap yard. Typically affixed to the booms of material handlers, these claw-like attachments are capable of handling a wide variety of material piled around the scrap yard.

The grapple’s primary functions include unloading trucks and railcars, moving and sorting prepared and unprepared material as well as feeding processing equipment, such as shredders and balers. Without grapples, scrap recyclers wouldn’t be able to run a smooth and efficient operation.

Because grapples are among the most commonly used attachments at scrap yards, purchasing the wrong style or tine configuration could ultimately increase downtime and decrease production. To avoid this scenario, recyclers are reminded to look for grapples that can offer them the most versatility.

Before purchasing a grapple, scrap recyclers should determine exactly what they want to accomplish with this piece of equipment, says David Lafleur, sales manager, Anvil Attachments, Slaughter, La.

Consolidated Scrap Resources Inc. (CSR) has a grapple for nearly every crane the company operates, says Ben Abrams, executive vice president and CFO of the Pennsylvania-based scrap processing company. "We use them throughout our yards to load and unload loose scrap and scrap vehicles onto and off of trucks and trailers; to feed scrap into balers, shears and the shredder; and in general to move piles of scrap," Abrams says.

When purchasing grapples, recyclers should also keep in mind the type of scrap they want to handle says David Coslov, vice president of maintenance, Tube City IMS, Glassport, Pa. The company operates more than 50 grapples. "If you’re going to handle a lot of loose material, like frag or hot-briquetted iron (HBI), you may want to consider enclosing the grapple tines to minimize material waste."

Equipment providers stress the importance of properly sizing grapples to the material handlers that will carry them. "It is important to size the grapple according to the machine capacity and application," says Mark Shukla, director of marketing Rotobec Inc., St. Justine, Quebec.

Lafleur adds that if recyclers don’t size their grapples accordingly, they risk overloading or unloading the machine. "Overloading can cause accelerated wear and excessive heat buildup, and grossly overloading can cause structural failure, and the machine might not be able to lift the attachment and material," Lafleur says.

Shukla adds that under-sizing or over-sizing a grapple leads to both production and safety-related issues.

In addition to size, recyclers should also consider the grapple’s construction. "Grapple buyers often overlook the importance of structural integrity of the main tower," says Rich Currie, scrap market specialist, Jewell Attachments, Portland, Ore. "The tower is the heart of the grapple and is the mounting point for all components. A good tower will protect the sensitive hydraulic components and provide a sturdy base for articulation of the fingers," Currie adds.

Coslov says Tube City’s abrasive applications make grapple construction a leading factor in the decision making process. Coslov says he wants to make sure grapples include a mechanism to control the stroke of the grapple’s cylinder. "Piston heads are often ripped off because the cylinder is allowed to stroke too far (usually when the tips are worn)," he says.

Equipment providers also recommend selecting a tine configuration that best suits a scrap recycler’s needs.

The configuration of a grapple’s tines is the key to its successful handling of various types of material.

Equipment providers offer a number of tine options that are tailored to a variety of material handling tasks, Lafleur says. For example, "five-, six- and seven-tine grapples are better suited for picking up smaller things, such as prepared material, because there are smaller openings between the tines," Lafleur says. On the other hand, "If you are handling unprepared material or oddly shaped material, you want a grapple with fewer tines."

The four-tine grapple is considered the most popular among scrap recyclers, according to suppliers. "The four-tine orange-peel grapples are the standard in scrap handling due to their simplicity and versatility," Currie says.

The four-tine grapple is available in a variety of spade styles, which only adds to its versatility, according to Wesley Jones, sales manager of Northshore Manufacturing, Two Harbors, Minn.

Lafleur adds that with the different spade styles, recyclers are able to adjust the width of the tine liners to go from a narrow to a wide to a one-third lower enclosed configuration.

Four-tine grapples are capable of handling a wide range of material, but when it comes to handling finer materials, such as shredded scrap and punchings, Currie recommends a grapple with full-basket tines. Full baskets have wider tines that leave smaller openings between tines when clamped, so finer materials can’t escape, equipment providers say. And for long, straight material that needs to pass through the basket of the grapple, Currie suggests purchasing a narrow-tine grapple.

Fred Phillips, sales engineer for Barrie, Ontario-based Bateman Manufacturing, says the semi-closed grapple offers the best general-purpose design. "It can handle a variety of grades, working well in shredded material, cut grades and larger plate and structural material," Phillips says. He adds that open tines work well with larger grades and bulky white products, while fully closed tines work better for fines, shredded material and direct-reduced iron (DRI).

"Unfortunately, very small pieces of scrap are difficult to grab with a grapple, so magnets, either by themselves or in conjunction with a grapple, are still necessary in the yard," Abrams says.

Scrap recyclers’ interest in magnetic grapples, particularly magnetic tines, has been increasing over the past year or two, equipment providers says.

"Magnet grapples are actually standard-type orange-peel grapples reconfigured to include an electro magnet mounted to the base of the main grapple body," Phillips says.

Magnets also are ideal for recyclers who are unloading and cleaning up, Lafleur says. "With magnet grapples you don’t have to get off the machine and hook up the magnet," he adds.

"But there’s a give and take to using magnet combos," Jones says. "Recyclers lose capacity by having the magnet permanently mounted to the grapple, and the added weight also decreases the payload."

None of Tube City IMS’s grapples have magnetic tines, according to Coslov. Hehas, though, looked at grapples with magnets in the center, which, he says, can be helpful for quick cleanups.

Some equipment providers, such as Northshore Manufacturing, have found a compromise to the magnet-combo grapples. Northshore’s grapples are designed with a hook so recyclers can attach and detach magnets at their convenience. The hook-on magnets can help users avoid production problems by enabling them to remove the magnets when they are not needed, Jones says.