Equipment Spotlight | MAR 2014 Attachments

by MARY M. COX

Whether it’s a magnet, a grapple or a shear – attachments are integral to the metal recycling environment.

A new Iron Ax shear on the market has been named the “Big Mouth” because the shear’s jaw opening, in relation to its weight, is larger than any other shear previously offered by the company. “This shear has a unique blade design that sets it apart from all other shears produced in America. All of the shear’s 12 blades are the same size, and it has a two-piece piercing tip. These two pieces are symmetrical and can be used from either side or either end and allows the user to flip the tip without rebuilding it.

There is a spacer at the point of the tip that keeps material from entering between the two halves of the tip. Each of the blades provides eight cutting edges per blade. The superior performance of this shear has been tested in our operation for the past year and is proven to be much lower in cost to operate than other shears in the market. Our shear’s patented design also sets the Iron Ax shear apart from anything else that is offered to scrap metal recyclers,” John Kitchens, vice president, stated.

Iron Ax owns and operates 5 scrap yards and they’ve been in business for 45 years. “Over 20 years ago, we started making products for use in our scrap operation and it was a natural transition to introduce our products in the marketplace. To survive in today’s competitive environment, scrap yards must use the right equipment. We know the industry and what is needed to get a job done. We often see a production rate increase after an operator begins to use one of our shears. Scrap yard operators are looking for ways to get a leg up on their competition and our customers seem to really appreciate our unique perspective,” said Kitchens.

Moley Magnetics manufactures scrap yard magnets, shears and grapples. Moley staff members often hear about two challenges that face most scrap recycling facilities: preventing the loss of tons of scrap to the dirt surface found in most facilities, and avoiding the loading of dirt into trucks meant to carry only scrap metal. Ron Slaby, sales manager, explained, “In either scenario, and after the bulk of the material is collected, operators then usually have an employee hand-pick and/or dig up what remains, or use a magnet to collect whatever scrap remains.

Manually collecting the scrap can be difficult because material may still retain too much dirt and then be unfit for hauling to the mill. Using a magnet to gather only the material you want to load is an effective, inexpensive tool that can help increase profits. A Moley Magnetics ESB24V battery-operated magnet provides an owner with a low cost, powerful magnet that installs quickly and requires very little maintenance. Used properly, an ESB 24V magnet will pick up very large pieces right down to screws, nuts, bolt and nails. This will increase the bottom line and save some tires along the way as well.”

The Pemberton-manufactured Power Picker® is a unique attachment for scrap yard use because it can pick and sort any material and it can also pull engines from cars and trucks. It was specifically designed as an excavator tool that can work the same as a pair of powerful, oversized tweezers. The Power Picker is designed to sort/pick out wanted and unwanted materials. The attachment can pull most high value components – like wire harnesses, gas tanks, converters and tires – from scrap vehicles.

“This tool is ideal in landfills and large or small scrap yards. It is versatile and can be upgraded for use with the various materials it can maneuver. The Power Picker is also ideal for use with white goods, insulation and wiring. The tool may even help reduce the number of ground workers required in a yard operation. It can be very efficient and so enhances yard productivity and may reduce costs related to yard personnel injuries, insurance claims, workman compensation, payroll, taxes and labor inefficiencies,” Mike Duffy, sales manager, said.

The Power Picker is fabricated out of high tensile materials and utilizes no additional hydraulics on the machine to operate it. There are heat-treated pins and bushings at all hinge points for extended wear life. Application of the attachment requires only standard pin on mounting and a mount plate which is welded onto the machine. The product is ideal for hydraulic excavators ranging in size from 18,000 to 55,000 lbs.

Adam Lindley, sales, said that SAS Forks offers the SAS™ Extreme™ grapple attachment, which is fast and easy to install. “Our grapple is engineered to pin to an existing dozer blade mount, utilizing the existing undercarriage hydraulics. It connects directly to a factory stick mount.” He explained that the product can be used to extract items such as copper wiring, radiators, heater cores, alternators, starters, aluminum condensers, a/c evaporators, intake manifolds, engines and transmissions.

Lindley said the SAS grapple is engineered and built for optimum performance. It features a rotating head with patented jaws that provide aggressive teeth for engine pulling; a needle nose-type tip for wire harness retrieval and the shape of the grapple allows it to maneuver in tight areas with speed and accuracy. There is a hard facing on the jaw teeth, hardened pins, bushings and grease-able pivot points to extend service life and the hydraulic cylinder on a rotating head is protected to minimize potential damage.

The attachment is best suited for rotational industrial equipment with a boom arm and two auxiliary hydraulic functions plumbed to the end of the stick for a rotating head with jaws. It offers an operating weight of 16 to 24 tons.