Whether it’s an auto or metal turnings, a shredder breaks the material into smaller, more manageable sizes so the material can then be sold or further processed. They break up solid chunks and bushy wads of many different types of ferrous and nonferrous metal materials.

Sheldon Smith, marketing and sales manager at Komar Industries, said that his employer manufactures a variety of low speed, high torque two and four shaft shear shredders for processing various ferrous and nonferrous metals. “Komar shredders offer heavy duty construction, wear-resistant cutters, proprietary bearing protection and a patented Pro Cutter Locking System (PCLS) on all of our shear shredders.

“Shredder models offer various sizes and range in horsepower from 10 to 1,000. Our custom shear cutter blades are manufactured for specific applications and come in a variety of configurations. Our shear shredders supplement Komar hazardous waste processing systems where failure and downtime are not an option and our shredders are found in some of the toughest applications all over the world,” he said.

Smith noted that a major problem common with most shear shredders involves the loosening of cutter stacks. This occurs when the conventional nut and bolt system cannot apply enough force to hold the stacks tight. The result is poor cutting performance and damage to the shaft. He said their PCLS solves this problem with a compact integrated bearing and locking system, which can provide 900 percent more force than the conventional nut and bolt method, requiring less maintenance and increasing uptime.

Another issue facing users of shear shredder technology is keeping dirt and debris from contaminating the bearings. “Komar utilizes a Proprietary Bearing Protection System that insulates the bearing and seal from the cutting chamber, which is key to longer uptime and lower operating cost. Our system includes heavy splash plates, end cutter deflectors, labyrinth shield with grease purge, air space and specialized seal guards. We address the problem of non-shreddables being introduced into the shredder with auto-reversing cutter shafts and our ESP – Extreme Shock Protection technology. These features increase the life of the cutters & drives by dissipating shock from tramp materials,” Smith said. Electronic scrap recycling is a growing trend for users of Komar shredders. In particular, their hard drive shredders are utilized in the destruction of digital media including hard drives, PDAs and cell phones.

Magnatech Engineering’s shredding systems feature top feed and side feed systems, custom layouts and engineering services, downstreams for ferrous and nonferrous, air systems and Z-boxes, rubber and steel belt conveyors, cat truck in-feed conveyors and electric and engine drive systems. Bill Graveman, president, said that Magnatech offers a wide range of sizes for their systems. Some examples include: 66 x 90 (1,000 hp to 3,000 hp), 72 x 72 in the aluminum model (1,000 hp to 2,500 hp), 72 x 104 (1,500 hp to 4,000 hp) and 80 x 104 (2,500 hp to 4,000 hp).

For 30 years, Shred-Tech has designed and manufactured industrial shear shredders. According to Mike Davison, applications manager, “We provide equipment for the size reduction, sorting, separation and material handling for metals, plastics, paper products and assorted wastes. Our shredder product line ranges from 71/2 hp electro-mechanical drive to 1,200 hp hydraulic drive. The cutting chamber sizes range from 17” x 14” to 62” x 116”.

Typically, Shred-Tech utilizes low speed, high torque, dual-shaft shear shredders for the size reduction of metals. Shaft speeds are usually 20 to 30 RPM and cutting forces range up to 306,000 lbs. Davison said this type of shredder offers higher cutting forces, less dust creation, lower noise levels and less vibration when compared to high speed shredders. The slow speed also reduces “sparking” when shredding materials such as magnesium and titanium.

Shred-Tech shredders have been used extensively for the size reduction of a wide range of metal products such as machine turnings. The shredding eliminates “bird’s nests” for improved material handling, bulk density increase and preparation for centrifugal cleaning for materials such as mild steel, alloy steel, aluminum and titanium. When automotive body panels are shredded, aluminum panels are air-veyed into roll-off containers for transport to the smelter.

Size reduction allows efficient delivery to the containers. Steel drums and containers for hazardous wastes such as nuclear, paint sledges and petroleum products are easily separated from the container after shredding. The separated product is then safely disposed of or recycled. The shredded container can be washed in preparation for smelting or efficiently disposed of.

Aluminum, in bales or loose form, and shredding of general scrap, UBCs, and construction debris is easy to separate (ferrous or nonferrous), one from another. The result is a clean aluminum product for de-lacquer and smelting processes. When shredding magnesium castings and ingots, the material is reduced to a consistent size for temperature control during smelting.

Fines produced by shredding magnesium are easily removed using screens for materials such as mild steel, alloy steel, aluminum and titanium. Titanium plate and slitter balls have traditionally been size-reduced using shears. This is a dangerous, labor-intensive process, but shredding eliminates those safety hazards and high labor costs. Utilizing a sizing screen after shredding produces a very consistent size for efficient smelting.