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My colleague Ben chuckles when I summarize his lessons by saying “It’s all about the Benjamins, isn’t it.” He laughs, but it’s true — often we lose sight of our goals in different metrics, philosophies, and competing perspectives.

However, if we think about the goals in terms of money, sometimes things get clearer.

Similarly operators get stuck in a rut and unwittingly shift focus on their shredding goals. These days, cost reduction is a major concern for every company shredding scrap. We’re all doing more with fewer people, stretching maintenance periods, and looking for the most competitive price.

With all the metrics, reports, cost reduction goals, competing priorities of the times, it can change your operating focus. And change how you view shredder wear parts.

Ben has visited a several operations, obviously well run and maintained. They all had their preference for a certain bottom grate and revealed they’ve been able to push the grate well beyond recommended life, saving them money.

Just because you can run a set of grates an extra long -time, doesn’t mean that you should. The loss in shred density and non ferrous liberation may be greater than the cost of replacing the grates on schedule. While saving on wear part costs and reaching your cost reduction targets, are you throwing away profitable zorba & zurich non-ferrous recovery in the process?

We see it as stepping over a dollar to pick up a dime. What does the money say?

K2 RecoveryGrates

Excessively worn grates do not reduce and liberate as well as fresh parts in the shredder box. As you approach the end of grate life, you’ll find grate hole size increases and the distance from hammer tip to grate face increases.

You’ll also see the distance from anvil or cutter bar to the hammer tip open up, reducing effectiveness. When shred density diminishes, so does the recovery rate in your downstream separation system.

Your steel mill consumer doesn’t like the poor shred density, cleanliness, or copper content worn grates yield. Your eddy currents and induction sorters have a tougher time pulling out materials, if they are making it to the separation plant at all. Non-ferrous metal units are lost to your ferrous pile or waste stream.

If worn grates cut your recovery even a 0.5%, what does that mean to the money?

Let’s use very conservative numbers. Running 10,000 GT per month, an economizer stretches his grate change from 65,000 GT to 95,000 GT. He paid $50,000 for the grate set. At 6.5 months to recommended change, his cost is $7692 per month for grates. He went an extra 3 months, so let’s say his grate cost is zero during the 3 months of extended use. In other words, he saved $7692 per month for 3 out of 9.5 months.

Let’s conservatively say once the grates hit normal life, they yield just 0.5% less non-ferrous recovery. The grate holes open up, the clearances inside increase, the hammers tend to drag over the scrap a bit, and cream puffs of tin start dropping off the undermill oscillator.  Recovery is often expressed as pounds of metals per shredded ton of ferrous output.  We’ll use a common baseline of 100 lbs per output ton.

Again, conservatively lets use a drop from 4% to 3.5% non ferrous per shredded ton. It’s likely much higher than that.  Non ferrous units go down from 100 to 95 pounds per shredded ton.  We’ll let you do the final step to find the money, taking your average price per pound for recovered shredded  metals. We’ll just look at the quantity.

• Worn grates loss is 0.5% per shredded ton
• 10,000 GT x 100 lbs/shredded ton = 1,000,000 lbs per month
• 10,000 GT x 95 lbs/shredded ton = 950,000 lbs per month

During that 3 month run, non-ferrous revenue dropped by 50,000 pounds per month for a 3 month total of 150,000 pounds. Convert that to the sales revenue yourself.  3 or 4 containers of shredder metals is lot more than $23,100.

• The delayed grate change saved $7700 per month for 3 months, or $23,100
• Loss in non ferrous metal units 50,000 lbs per month, 150,000 lbs for 3 months

Why are we shredding?

Everyone can trim costs each month and do with a little less. But looking at the money gives us a fresh perspective at how we set those interim goals.

At the request of our best customers, we designed in wear indicators to our K2 RecoveryGrates. We just listened to their feedback, “When when the grate is done, we want to know quickly.”

No stepping over dollars to pick up dimes. 

Want more non-ferrous recovery from your feed stock? Our K2 RecoveryGrates can help you get more from what you already have. Need a better non-ferrous recovery system? Give us a call on helping you find the right solutions for your capital budget. It’s all about the Benjamin’s!

Non-ferrous metals – aluminum, copper, lead, nickel, zinc and tin – do not degrade during the recycling process and thus can be recycled an infinite number of times. Thus, nonferrous recovery and recycling has become increasingly important – both domestically and globally.

According to ISRI’s “Nonferrous Scrap Metal Market Trends” presentation, nonferrous accounted for nearly 70% of total U.S. scrap recycling earnings in 2011.

Some interesting stats (provided by the ISRI in their fact sheet):

• The US annually recycles enough copper to provide the copper content for 25,000 Statues of Liberty.
• In 2011, the US recycled enough aluminum cans to save the equivalent of 17 million barrels of gasoline – enough to fuel more than one million vehicles on the road for 12 months.
• A used aluminum can is recycled and back on the grocery shelf in as little as 60 days.

In 2012, more than 9 million metric tons of nonferrous scrap was processed in the US in from various sources – with an estimated value of $49 billion.

This scrap is then used domestically –and exported globally to over 100 countries. A $14 billion dollar industry, scrap is exported to China, Canada, Mexico, Japan and others – with China being the number one importer. According to the ISRI, from 2000 to 2011, NF scrap exports to China increased from $165M to $3.5 billion.

However, while NF scrap recovery in the US is booming, prices have fallen on exported NF scrap due to uncertainties including the US budget and debt ceiling challenges, exchange rate volatility (as seen in the screenshot below for copper), and global demand and supply.

The pendulum may be swinging back towards less export / more domestic consumption.  USA recyclers want to see domestic consumers return to avoid transpiration, regulatory, currency, and ‘market downgrades.’  As North American manufacturing efficiencies tweak up, domestic secondary metal producers will be right behind them.

What this means for the small metals recycler

 Recyclers that maintain their flexibility among markets will benefit.  They need the largest group of buyers and the most markets to maximize revenue and consistent sales.

Strive for quality – be able to produce the next level of quality in short order.  The next ‘Operating Green Fence’ can turn a market in short order.  Be ready to meet domestic quality requirements when local markets come looking.

Innovation is rewarded – Tailoring grades to meet local markets develops your niche and often earns you a steady buyer.  X-ray sorting your zorba in to cast and sheet grades (making ISRI Grade Tweak) or separating out insulated wire adds value every day.

Flexibility will help you overcome disruptions in buyers, logistics, and currency.

Our industry association ISRI is calling for all scrap processors to join a major evolution on October 15th:  Safety Stand Down Day.  In the wake of a tragic stretch of injuries in the scrap processing industry, ISRI is urging all firms to demonstrate their commitment to safety in the workplace by taking at least 1 hour during each shift to engage in safety awareness training.

Why should you do this?

• A stand down is meant to be a major statement to all to call attention to the seriousness of the situation and demonstrate your commitment to safety and safe procedures.
• You must show commitment from the top.  Emphasize how the company, managers, and employees will take safe operations to the next level.
• Many well run and well intentioned processors have had serious incidents recently resulting in fatality or major injury.  It could happen anywhere.  You are not exempt.

At a recent ISRI Chapter meeting President Doug Kramer and Executive Director Robin Weiner addressed their concern for 16 fatalities in the scrap processing industry this year.  Analysis supports all could have been prevented by emphasizing employees to follow safety procedures such as lock out tag out, seat belt use, or confined space entry.  Their message: common sense is the key to the success of any safety program not only from employees, but also from the people who supervise them.

Take ISRI up on its leadership to make a loud safety statement October 15, 2015.  ISRI is offering several training guides for use on October 15th should you need them.  Check them out here.

image provided by ISRI

Why use an infrared (IR) camera at your shredder infeed?  They do pay for themselves in short order with more tons per hour and less delay time over the course of a shift.  And there are ways to keep them out of harm’s way.

Damp and wet system shredders produce a fair amount of steam to accomplish their goals for dust control and regulating the mill box environment.  Get the dew point close to the air temp and you have a lot of steam, really obscuring the view of the feed chute.

One solution is the infrared camera to peer through the steam.  The heat from the shredder lights up the view from behind, creating a back lighted view of what’s in front of the heat.  That would be your feed stock in the feed chute.

While you don’t have to see what’s in front of the DFR, it is extremely helpful to avoid jams and underfeed minutes to the mill.  Keeping the feeder rolling and the mill box full is what it’s all about.  Pencil in the total minutes of non productive time with feed issues against the cost of the camera system, and you will find the cost of a camera reasonable.

A direct camera alignment takes in a full heat signature and gives the best camera image.  But the direct mount is also subject to direct damage.  Fortunately new  camera’s are more sensitive and allow for some alternate mounting methods.

View 1 is the direct mount, with full heat ‘lighting up’ the scrap in front of it.  Bright and sharp views, but hard to maintain and service.

View 2 is the reflected side mount.  The heat signature can be bounced off a polished reflective surface and seen by the camera safely mounted to the side.  A stainless sheet with adjustable mount works well.  We’ve heard of commercial flat screen TV brackets working well to adjust the reflector.  The camera is out of harm’s way, but you need a high enough mounting point for the reflector to keep it clear of the scrap moving over the infeed conveyor.

IR Camera Positions

View 3 is a side mounted camera.  New IR systems are sensitive enough to present the scrap profile in front of the feed rollers even from a side view.  The camera is very much out of harm’s way, but  you need a tall mount to look over the side of the feed chute.

The side mount is often the easiest mount, close to platform or protective screen, with less cable run, and easy access.  How does it look?  See the video below.   This camera is a FLIR model A300 with 17mm lens provided as a package by Shredder Vision.

Shipping and transit times to North America have grown considerably over the past few months.  Container shipments to US ports per month were at an all time high in August 2014.  Depending on the destination, transit times have increased 4-5 weeks.

Products are leaving the foundry on time, but they are sitting at the docks 2 to 3 weeks at each end of the ocean journey.  Large scale congestion at USA and foreign ports is the result of several issues:

• Labor slowdowns and anticipated labor actions have both slowed ship loading and unloading.  Labor issues at some Chinese ports slowed several weeks of deliveries.  At US ports, the promise of contentious labor talks had many ship early to avoid delays if talks bogged down.  Contract talks continue.
• US Ports are facing longer times unloading the new class of ever larger vessels.  The delays are congesting already packed dock schedules.
• A change in the truck chassis system in the USA has increased delays.  When carriers controlled container chassis, they provided one with each container pick up.  Carriers decided not long ago they didn’t want to own truck chassis, and the new system has them everywhere but where they need to be: at the port.  The result is long waits for a free chassis to pull containers from the yards, and a lack of driver hours to deal with the delays.
• The surge in volume and the port delays has intermodal terminals and trucking capacity out of sync, causing further congestion.

The bottom line:  Don’t get caught short on your wear parts.  Be sure to re-order as soon as you use your stock.  Do not delay purchases and give yourself more time for delivery.

K2 Castings does much more than provide long wearing shredder wear parts. Ben Guerrero and I also provide yard owners and operators advice about how to improve shredder efficiencies – especially as yards move more non-ferrous.

We also project manage major shredder consulting projects – everything from overseeing multi-million dollar new construction projects to the installation of “mega class” shredders.

With this new website, you’ll learn how we can help you in all facets of your shredder operation.

Wear Parts – In this section you’ll find our full range of “runs tough, wears long” shredder parts – from hammers and pin protectors to grates and liners.

Consulting Services – To give you a better overview of how we can help improve your shredder efficiencies, we’ve included a project portfolio plus descriptions of our combined capabilities.

RFQ Form – Using our new request for quote form, you can upload a photo of your shredder wear part or you can send us your dimensions and then we’ll take it from there.

We’ve also updated our blog where you can find shredders for sale as well as shredder tips for getting more from your operation.

Take a look around and let us know what you think!

Often with safety in scrap yards, the small things are taken for granted.  The tactile edge on stairways is one of those things.  Adding a slightly raised and well defined edge to the edge of stairs makes all the difference in the world.  They are definitely an improvement to outdoor machinery installations, such as scrap metal shredding plants.

A simple scrap yard solution to increase the tactile edge on stairs and footing on inclines is to add small rebar or flat bar as pictured.  The profile of both edges is small enough to avoid trips, yet tall enough to provide traction to steel grating or stairs.

Low cost, easy to install, and easy to maintain.  Adding them to your machinery installation will enhance worker confidence on stairs and inclines.  You need your team on the job, not out with slips and falls.

Scrap Magazine’s recent issue features a story on shredder wear parts.  Wear Part: Makers of Automobile Shredder Wear Parts are Working to Keep Up with changes in Shredder Design, Power, and Feedstock by Theodore Fischer.

The Atlantic magazine features an informative story about recycling scrap metals.  It profiles the Louis Padnos Company, a generations old scrap metal processor in Holland, Michigan.  The story is a good overview of our industry by James Fallows entitled Holland: Where Things Go After the Recycling Bin.

Scrap metal recycling is rooted in family run operations all over America.  Most of those business continue to evolve in size and scale, with impressive machinery, environmental stewardship, and leading technology.  All  while maintaining the local relationships, knowledge, and the neighborly approach that built the business over decades.

A successful processor operates a large fleet of service and delivery trucks, material handling equipment, and high powered metal shredders, steel shearing machines, baling presses, and sorting equipment.  They sell recycled metals on a national and world market, following commodity prices, and trading across time zones.  The mix of skills and experience needed the run a recycling business is unique.

You’ll enjoy Mr. Fallows profile story above.  For a more in depth look, consider Adam Minter’s Junkyard Plant.  More information on the scrap metal industry can be found at the industry association site ISRI.

High torque drive couplings usually involve a shrink fit.  The coupling is machined with a smaller diameter than the mating shaft.  The coupling is heated 300-400 degrees hotter, expands and can be slipped onto the drive shaft.  It cools, shrinks in diameter, and a tight mechanical fit is accomplished (with keyways or splines as well).

You may have to remove a shrink fit coupling when changing out drive motors or rotors.  Your manufacturer’s rep can get you some advice on the pulling force and strength needed for a successful removal.  Without adequate set up, you’ll bend or snap rods, and be left with hours of time to shed enough heat before you can work on the unit again for another attempt.

1. You’ll need a lifting device and rigging to hold up several hundred pounds of coupling as you slide it off the shaft.
2. 6 to 8 full diameter threaded rods seated full depth in your coupling’s end holes, and a few dozen nuts.  Use grade 8 rod (150 ksi tensile) to give you full strength and minimal elongation.
3. 2 inch thick backing plate
4. 12-20 tons of jacking force.  Hydraulic jack (s) and enough jack stroke to pull off the coupling.  This may require a stub shaft insert if you the jack stroke is less than the coupling length.
5. Torches and heating tips.  Rosebud heating tips of proper size (8 or 10) are important.  Using both propane and oxy acetylene torches is wise.  Acetylene burns hotter and there is limited space to apply torches to the coupling.  Make sure you have enough gases on hand in case you need more than one attempt to remove the coupling.
6. Fire retardant blankets
7. A clean and clear work area
8. Fire fighting gear, a clear work area, and heat resistant PPE for personnel
9. Your safety program may require a hot work permit

The key item is to heat the coupling quickly, so it expands before the shaft it’s mounted on heats up and expands as well.  The difference in temps for allows for expansion.  Also, excessive heat in the shaft can lead to damage of bearings, seals, and other components.

Always let things air cool.  Never cool with water or gases like a CO2 fire extinguishers.  If you have a fire emergency, do what you need to do to minimize loss of property or life.  However quenching with water or anything else would likely damage the coupling or shaft steel.