JULY/AUGUST 2007
These versatile machines have become scrapyard standards. Before you buy, consider material, production volume, and layout constraints to ensure you make the right investment.
By Jim Fowler
Paper, plastic, or metal? No, the supermarket hasn’t expanded its grocery bag options (at least not in my neighborhood). That’s just one of many questions scrapyard owners must consider before purchasing a baler. What you’re baling, where you’re baling it, and what volume you plan to bale are all important factors in choosing the right baler for your business. Manufacturers produce a variety of models to suit virtually every need. The challenge is to define your need today—and tomorrow.
What You Need
Potential buyers don’t always think through five seemingly basic questions about their baler needs, according to several manufacturers.
- What are you baling? First, is it fiber, plastics, nonferrous or ferrous metals, or a combination of those? Second, consider what types of materials you receive within those commodity groups and in what condition you receive them. This will help determine both the type of baler and whether you also need preparation equipment.
- What tonnage of material do you expect to bale, and at what rate?
- What are the markets for your baled material? Consider both the consumer’s requirements and your transportation needs—e.g., what size bales will best fit on a truck or in a railcar or shipping container.
- What kind of space do you have for the baler and supplemental equipment such as conveyors?
- What can you afford to spend?
Function Dictates Form
What you’re baling will most likely determine whether you purchase a single- or double-ram baler and which of the two basic types of each you choose.
Single-ram, open-end balers, also known as horizontal or channel balers, are used predominantly for scrap paper, but they also can bale plastic containers, steel and aluminum cans, and other nonferrous metals. “They tend to be faster and give greater throughput of fiber if the grade of fiber will fit into the hopper,” one manufacturer says.
The baler’s size and horsepower determine its productivity, which can range from “a couple of bales an hour to 25, 30, or 40 bales per hour, depending on how much power you put on it,” a baler sales rep says. Open-end balers with an auto-tie machine range in price from $100,000 to $700,000.
That auto-tie machine and its fixed number of straps is the reason why scrapyards only occasionally use open-end balers for plastics, one vendor explains. “With high-grade paper, old newspaper, or corrugated, you put out a full-length bale—60 or 72 inches. Plastic typically requires a shorter bale—36 to 48 inches—so the wire will hold the bale together.” Further, he says, “most manufacturers of open-end, auto-tie balers would recommend that PET and HDPE containers be perforated prior to baling, which adds a step to the process and the cost of another piece of equipment.”
Open-end balers are not always well suited for large, bulky OCC, he says. “You might have a lot of bridging problems getting the material into the hopper. A large-opening, auto-tie baler typically has a 42- by 80-inch charge box opening. A Gaylord box, for example, is significantly bigger than that and will bind up, catch, and interlock against itself, stopping the flow of corrugated into the hopper and bale chamber.” These balers are suitable for small- and medium-sized material or shredded material that feeds easily into the charge box, though.
Some vendors don’t recommend single-ram, open-end balers for aluminum and steel cans, either. With “open channels on the side of the bale chamber,” one manufacturer says, “there can be a lot of fall-off, with pieces of cans sticking out through the sides that will interfere with the baling process and, especially, the tying process.” But another manufacturer offers special attachments that improve these balers’ handling of such materials.
Single-ram, closed-end balers get kudos for their versatility and ability to process small volumes of material—100 to 200 tons a month—particularly nonferrous metals. Some models are well-suited for high-grade paper, ONP, OCC, some plastics, and aluminum and steel cans. Heavy-duty models can bale other nonferrous material such as extrusions, radiators, and sheet material.
One manufacturer describes the machine as an “entry-level baler for a small processor.” These balers can produce only limited volumes, he says, because “the strapping is done manually—generally one to three bales per hour, depending on the skill, agility, and desire of the operator.” At the same time, he says, “it’s an extremely versatile machine because it can handle a multitude of materials and requires a lower cost investment—in the $60,000 to $110,000 price range.”
Two-ram balers also come in two basic varieties: narrow box (typically a 40- by 80-inch opening) and wide box (typically a 60- by 110-inch opening). Either is suitable for recovered fiber, plastic, and nonferrous metals; choose between them based on the size and type of material and the production level you seek. The wide box accepts more material, so it’s more productive, and it’s better suited for large corrugated or bulky nonferrous material. The prices of wide-box balers begin at $350,000; narrow-box balers start at $190,000.
Manufacturers tout two-ram balers’ ability to handle a variety of materials, produce a consistent bale size, and vary the number of straps depending on the material being baled, which can result in significant savings on wire in the long run.
In fact, if you’re on the fence about whether to buy a single- or two-ram baler, the baling wire could be a deciding factor. Single-ram balers, whether manual or auto-tie, typically use black annealed wire, which is a soft wire that comes in 100- to 1,000-pound coils. Two-ram balers typically use high-tensile-strength wire, which is stiffer—and more expensive. “The operator has to know the kind, size, and gauge of baling wire needed” for a particular baler, one manufacturer says, “and how much it will cost, as it will be an ongoing expense” over the life of the baler.
Infeed Considerations
Beyond the qualities of the baler itself, productivity will depend on how the yard feeds material into the baler: directly into the hopper, into a tilt dumper, or onto a conveyor. “For volume you must have a feed conveyor system,” one vendor insists—“it’s the most efficient.” Another notes that “anything over four bales an hour—a couple of tons an hour—would benefit from an in-ground or pit conveyor.”
Conveyors also have quality and safety benefits. They allow the operator “to spread out the material to get a better look at it, particularly nonferrous, to ensure that no propane or acetylene tanks slipped by,” a vendor says.
A typical infeed conveyor system for a wide-box, two-ram baler can be $75,000 to $100,000. And one manufacturer warns about cutting costs here: “If you don’t have a wide enough or long enough conveyor in the pit section, where you can feed the material efficiently, it will be a choke point for the baler—the baler will always be waiting for material. On high-volume applications, you need to spend the extra money for a conveyor with more length and width.” He recommends for a large, two-ram baler a 6- to 8-foot-wide conveyor. “The length in the pit section for a small-volume operation is 20 feet, while it could run from 40 to 80 feet in a high-volume application,” he adds.
For optimal efficiency, he recommends a variable speed drive “that allows you to tune the conveyor speed to the material being run.”
Space and Structural Issues
With balers and conveyors, space is an important consideration, particularly because most yards install their balers indoors. “Layout is critical,” one manufacturer says, “especially if it’s a small facility. You need a good-sized space for the baler and [the] conveyors, as well as adequate ceiling height.” For a single-ram, manual-tie baler, one manufacturer recommends ceilings of about 13 feet. Two-ram balers need more headroom: ideally 22 feet, he says, but no less than 15 to 17 feet.
Infeed layout needs should include space for presorting material, if that’s required. And think about where the bales will go when the ram pushes them out. Does the plant have adequate storage space, or will you load bales directly into a trailer or container?
Repeated handling increases operating costs, so determine the most efficient method to deal with bales as the baler produces them.
Bale disposition might lead to questions about forklift capacity: Once you know the size of bale your machine will make, ensure your forklift can move, stack, and load one or two bales at a time. If not, add the cost of a new forklift into your calculations.
And one infrastructure issue many yards neglect to consider, vendors say, is power. “We find over and over again that after a customer orders a machine, he has to fight for six months to get enough power to run it, because he’s never had a big machine,” one manufacturer laments.
Technological Advances
If you haven’t purchased a baler in a while, you’ll find improvements in areas including wear management, control systems, and hydraulics.
Wear is an issue in “a dirty environment, which is typical of scrap operations,” one vendor says. “The metal bottom on the ram is rubbing back and forth on the baler’s metal floor, and the dirt and grime wear the plate.” In response, he says, “The industry has developed abrasion-resistant wear surfaces that are a huge improvement and extend the floor life of the machine before it has to be
rebuilt.”
Stationary shear knives, a feature on some larger balers, also suffer wear. “Imagine a ram coming forward in a baler, pushing material into the bale chamber,” a vendor says. “It goes under the frame of the baler, where there’s a pinch point. The ram has to push hard for the knives to cut through the material. If the knives are dull or the gap between the knives isn’t maintained properly, cutting becomes even more difficult and the material may jam,” he explains. “Today there are [better] ways to maintain the knife gap that are easier and quicker to perform.” One manufacturer has a hydraulic vertical ram at the knife. “If the machine has trouble pushing the material through the shear knife,” he says, “it is programmed to withdraw the ram and move the vertical ram down to clear the jam automatically, allowing the baler to then resume production.”
Control systems have advanced to the point of making operators of two-ram balers nearly obsolete when baling fiber, plastics, and cans. “In the old days, someone stood on the platform continuously and controlled the ram going back and forth, [telling] the machine when the bale was done, when to tie the bale, and with how many wires,” one manufacturer recalls. “Over time, positioning [and] pressure-sensing devices have gained reliability and accuracy, while simultaneously the programmable logic controllers have become more sophisticated. This results in highly refined programming.” The PLC monitors inputs from various switches—pressure, ram position, and temperature—and coordinates the baler’s response to each different combination of inputs, he explains, making it fully automatic—and creating significant labor cost savings over the life of the baler.
Further, one manufacturer says, “PLCs on the baler can provide production data to maintenance and facilities management programs. Links to the manufacturer can allow technical support staff to troubleshoot and even correct issues remotely with minimal downtime.” To take advantage of these capabilities, the baler needs the appropriate communications support, such as network cabling, a modem, and dedicated phone lines.
Improved hydraulics have resulted in more efficient baler operations in terms of durability, force, and speed. “Cartridge poppet valves have come a long way in improving the efficiency of hydraulics,” one vendor says. “If properly sized, they can provide a higher efficiency … for the horsepower invested.” Further, he says, “Hydraulics on two-ram machines have gone to flooded suction pumps,” which are more durable than earlier designs. “Rather than the pump pulling oil upward against gravity on the suction side,” he explains, “it now sits down below the tank, and the oil level is flooded into the suction. This results in less strain on the pump, which results in longer pump life.” Other manufacturers mount the pumps so they are submerged in the hydraulic oil in the reservoir. Filtration systems have improved as well, which “provides longer life for all components—pumps, valves and cylinders,” he says.
Some vendors tout their balers’ greater hydraulic pressure, which allows the machines to use a smaller-diameter cylinder to produce the same force as a larger one. The smaller cylinder uses less oil, one vendor says. “As a result, smaller pumps will do the job, so smaller motors can be used to run the pumps, which further lowers operating costs.” His company uses smaller, twin motors rather than one motor. “Starting them individually, we lower surge operating costs [in comparison with] starting a large motor.”
Another manufacturer uses an 11-inch-diameter cylinder that operates at 4,250 psi and a variable-speed pump. “Unlike the vane-style pump that is limited to two speeds—high speed, low pressure and low speed, high pressure—the piston pump adjusts its speed infinitely, so speed is never sacrificed,” the vendor says. “It also dramatically reduces heat created in the hydraulic system, so it’s more efficient.”
But other vendors caution against higher-pressure hydraulics. A manufacturer who produces two-ram balers with 3,000- to 3,500-psi hydraulic systems contends that that’s “a high enough pressure to have around and work on. The new systems running 4,500 to 5,000 psi with smaller cylinders may save a little money on the cylinder,” he says, “but exposing yourself to a higher pressure, should a hose break, is potentially dangerous.”
This vendor also contends that higher-pressure hydraulics are less durable. “The cylinder in a higher-pressure system is going to cycle faster, which means it will wear out faster. High-pressure systems use expensive piston pumps, which will also be more costly to replace,” and the components for such systems might be harder to find and work with, he says. “I’m not sure, when all is said and done, that the high-pressure systems will have that great an impact on cost savings,” the vendor says.
Vendor Selection
Once you’ve determined the baler type and infeed system that best meets your needs, the final decision is which manufacturer to select. Do the same kind of due diligence you would for any large equipment purchase. Check the manufacturer’s history: How long has the company been in business, how many units does it have running, and what’s its financial strength? Call references, and investigate how the baler’s technical specifications relate to real-world installations. Investigate that brand’s resale value after five or 10 years.
Ask about maintenance issues as well. Does the manufacturer make or buy components such as pumps, liners, liner material, and cylinders? How available are replacement parts and technical and service support? What’s the warranty? What kind of safety equipment does it include?
Regardless of model, baler manufacturers are confident that the investment in a new, more efficient baler will result in lower costs and greater productivity for nearly any yard. A new machine could produce two or three times as much in the same time as one 20 or 25 years old, one manufacturer says. That might allow a facility to run one fewer shift—not to mention the potential labor cost savings if it’s fully automated.
“You really need to think of the baler as a long-term investment—not just a piece of equipment out in the shop—and try to envision it as a long-term payback,” one manufacturer says. “If a buyer does his homework and consults with knowledgeable people, he’ll select the baler that’s right for his operation—now and in the future.” •
Jim Fowler is retired publisher and editorial director of Scrap.
These versatile machines have become scrapyard standards. Before you buy, consider material, production volume, and layout constraints to ensure you make the right investment.