Equipment Focus: Tire Cutters

March/April 2014

If your yard handles a large volume of tires—or a regular supply of large off-the-road tires—a specialized tire cutter can be an efficient way to reduce tire volume for easier storage or hauling and to prepare them for a shredder.

By Diana Mota

The best way to eat an elephant, the saying goes, is one bite at a time. And that’s the way many tire processors handle their jumbo tires, by using an alligator shear or a mobile shear attached to an excavator to take small bites of the tire until it has bitten through the width and depth of the tread. Then the operator picks up one of the pieces and starts nibbling again. The process takes patience and time. Unless a company has another use for the shear, “it’s a very expensive way to cut tires,” says Randy Kindel, sales manager for Tire Service Equipment Mfg. Co.–Saf-Tee Siping & Grooving, or TSISSG (Phoenix). Further, most mobile shears “are not made to cut tires,” points out Wally Welander, sales manager for Eagle International (Dakota Dunes, S.D.). “They’re made to cut steel.” A tire can contain steel and fiber, but it’s primarily rubber. “You need a machine that’s designed to cut through all of that,” he says. It only makes sense to use a mobile shear attachment, says Lewis Smith, vice president of Desco (Blakesburg, Iowa), “if you already have access to [one] and don’t have a large volume of tires.” These manufacturers make equipment designed specifically for cutting tires that can operate more quickly and cost-effectively than cutting them with a shear, they say, making easy work of downsizing even some of the largest off-the-road tires.

Why cut a tire? Cut tires stack more easily, which can reduce the volume of a tire pile up to 75 percent, Kindel says. This might help reduce community concerns about a tire processing yard. Cutting tires also makes them less costly to transport because you can fit more tires in a truckload, he says. Thus, even if a consumer accepts whole tires, cutting might reduce transportation costs. Portable tire cutters allow the processor to downsize the material at its source, also increasing transportation efficiency. And, depending on the size of the tire and the size of the shredder, cutting a tire into smaller pieces can make it more manageable to feed the rubber into a shredder, these manufacturers say, and it can reduce wear on the shredder. “It takes a lot of stress off the shredder once you break the bead wire,” Welander says.

The tire cutter a processor should choose will depend on the size and volume of tires it handles, Welander says. Eagle International’s equipment line covers passenger-car tires up to the very largest mining tires, it says. TSISSG and Desco offer equipment for a smaller range of tire sizes, from passenger-car tires up to super singles—tires wide enough to replace the two-tire sets on a tractor or trailer. Here’s a look at the equipment options in this market.

Size and Strength

The tire-cutting process generally consists of three steps: lifting and placing the tire in the cutting bed, cutting across the tire, and turning the tire for another cut. Lifting can be done by hand or forklift, though tire lifts are included on some models and an option on others. Some manufacturers also offer extension rollers that accommodate larger tires. To cut the tire, a hydraulically activated blade moves between two stationary blades in a motion these companies compare to that of a paper cutter, leaving a clean edge to the tire pieces. Then workers rotate the tire on rollers to line it up for the next cut, though some larger machines have powered roller beds to turn the tire automatically. The operator can cut a tire in half or cut it into a dozen or more pieces depending on the size of the tire and the user’s end purpose, Welander says.

For maximum efficiency, Kindel recommends a two-person process: One person operates the blade, the other person removes the cut pieces. “One [person] can run it, but that slows down the whole process,” he says. Two operators are strongly recommended for cutting larger, heavier tires, Welander says. “You need someone to operate the machine and someone else to bring the tires to the machine using a front-end loader.” With larger machines and bigger tires, “you might even need three people to get the most efficiency out of the machine,” Welander says. One person would bring the tires to the machine, a second would operate it, and the third would remove the pieces.

Eagle, which began producing its line of powered tire cutters in 1991, offers six cutter models for tires ranging in size from passenger tires to the largest OTRs. With the smaller machines, “you have to physically turn the tires yourself,” Welander says; its three largest machines have powered roller beds that automatically rotate the tires for cutting. The small to midsize machines cut about 1 ton an hour; the volume for the larger ones depends on the tire size and composition, he says. All the models have four-sided, rotatable blades.

• The company’s smallest machine, the stationary TC Gator, suits auto salvage yards or tire processors that receive small volumes of tires, such as 50 to 100 a week, Welander says. It comes with a 5-hp electric motor or 7-hp gas engine and cuts tire sizes from passenger car up to light truck tires with 18.5-inch-diameter rims. “People usually cut these tires in half or quarters,” Welander says. It uses a 20-inch blade and has a cycle time of 18 seconds.
• Eagle’s Tru-Cut, which comes in both stationary and portable designs, cuts two passenger tires at a time or tires with up to 24.5-inch-diameter rims, such as the rear tires of agricultural equipment, which can be about 6 feet tall. It has a 36-inch-long blade and a 23-hp diesel, 20-hp gas, or 15-hp electric motor. Like the TC Gator, it has a cycle time of 18 seconds. A tire lift is optional.
• The stationary or portable Tuf-Cut can cut two or three smaller tires in one pass and cut OTRs up to 500 to 600 pounds. “It’s the workhorse of our line,” Welander says. It uses a 36-inch blade and a 23-hp diesel, 20-hp gas, or 15-hp electric motor, with a cycle time of 15 seconds. A tire lift and extension rollers to handle the larger tires are included.
• The Tuf-Cut II, also stationary or portable, suits large-volume tire shredding operations, such as tire-derived fuel producers and cement kilns, Welander says. It can cut three to five car tires or two to three truck tires in one pass and cut OTRs up to 7 feet tall, weighing 1,000 to 1,500 pounds, with tire tread 30 inches wide. Its 35-hp diesel or 25-hp electric engine and 48-inch-long blade have a 26-second cycle time. A tire lift and powered roller beds are standard.
• The portable Titan cuts tires up to 10 feet high with up to 38-inch-wide tread. Its 66-hp diesel or 60-hp electric motor and 60-inch-long blades have a cycle time of 17 seconds. Standard equipment includes powered roller beds and a seat for the operator.
• The portable Titan II cuts OTR mining tires that are up to 44 inches across the tread and up to 12 feet high. When processing tires with 40-inch tread widths and up, the firm recommends using its Punch Cutter first, however, to split the tires through the center of the tread, bagel-style, to make them more manageable. Depending on the tire and the number of pieces cut, each piece can weigh from 50 to 100 pounds, Welander says. The Titan II has a 190-hp diesel engine, 76-inch blades, a cycle time of 22 seconds, powered extension rollers, and an extended bed. Options include a heated and air-conditioned operator cab. The Titan and the Titan II don’t come with tire lifts, Welander explains, because “you’re going to have to have a piece of equipment to get a tire that big to the tire cutter” already.
• The Eagle Punch Cutter, as noted, cuts around the circumference of an OTR tire. Once an operator loads the tire onto the machine, which typically is done with a telehandler or front-end loader, the punch cutter can rotate and cut the tire automatically, with its 7-inch-long blade making a series of 5-inch-long cuts. It takes about 20 minutes to split a tire with 40-inch tread. “The largest tires can have 14 inches of solid rubber in the shoulder,” Welander says.

TSISSG, which has manufactured tire cutters since 1981, makes four models. The company touts its double-shear-blade system, which adjusts to maintain zero clearance between the blades for a clean cut, eliminates blade separation, and extends the blade life, Kindel says. The blades are heat-treated to make them stronger, he adds.

• The firm’s smallest and best-selling model, the TC-50, can quarter passenger or light truck tires with up to 19-inch wheel diameters at a rate of up to 60 tires an hour, Kindel says. It comes with a 9-hp commercial gas engine or a 3-hp, 220-volt, single-phase electric motor.
• The TC-55 quarters tires with 19-inch wheel diameters or smaller at a rate of up to 90 an hour. It has a 10-hp, 220/440 volt, three-phrase electric motor or an 18-hp gas engine with electric start. “It doesn’t [cut] anything bigger than the TC-50; it does them faster,” Kindel says. The TC-55 also has an optional adapter to cut the plastic sides off of aluminum radiators so “you end up with a solid piece of aluminum,” he adds.
• The portable TC-100 quarters passenger and light truck tires at a rate of up to 120 tires an hour with the addition of an optional tire compressor. The compressor flattens the tires in half to make them easier to cut, Kindel explains. Then users can place the two halves together for a second cut. Without the compressor, the TC-100 cuts up to 90 tires an hour, he adds. It can quarter heavy truck tires, including super singles, at a rate of up to 40 tires an hour, he says. The cutter comes with a 10-hp, 220/440-volt, three-phrase electric motor; an 18-hp gas engine with electric start; or a 22-hp diesel engine. A ramp allows operators to roll the tire up to the cutting blade, eliminating the need to lift the whole tire. With the cutter’s 2-inch ball hitch and safety chains, operators can move it around the yard without a cart. Options include trailer lights.
• The TC-125 cuts tires with up to 54-inch wheel diameters such as rear tractor tires, Kindel says. Its 56-hp diesel engine also can cut up to two heavy-duty commercial truck tires at a time, he says. A hydraulic lift raises larger tires to the cutting bed.

Desco has been making tire cutters for about 35 years and offers six models.

• The EL1000 and M1000 stationary tire shears, for cutting light truck and passenger-car tires, have a 5-hp electric motor and 12-hp gas motor with electric start, respectively. The EL1000 has cycle times of 10 to 12 seconds; the M1000, 11 seconds.
• The 2500 portable tire shear is available with an 18-hp diesel or gas motor with an electric start for cycle times ranging from 13 to 15 seconds. It quarters semi-truck, steel-free farm tractor, light truck, or passenger-car tires at a rate of about 180 passenger-car or 60 semi-truck tires an hour, Smith says.
• The 2906 portable shear, with a 30-hp diesel or gas engine with electric start, cuts super singles, semi-truck, radial tractor, light-truck, and passenger tires at a rate of about 13 to 15 seconds per tire.
• The 4000 portable tire shear and derimmer has a 26.5-hp diesel or 27-hp gas engine with electric start. The machine has two independent operating stations: One worker operates the cutter; the other operates the derimmer to separate tires from their rims, Smith says. It cuts semi-truck, tractor, passenger, and light-truck tires with a cycle time of 13 to 15 seconds; it de­rims passenger and light truck tires with up to 18-inch-diameter rims with a cycle time of 14 seconds. Other features include a lift tire apron with spin rollers and automatic shutdown on the diesel engine.
• The CP600 portable tire shear and derimmer comes with a 22-hp gas engine with electric start. It cuts light truck or passenger-car tires with cycle times of 8 to 10 seconds; its derimmer has an 11-second cycle time for tires with up to 18-inch-diameter rims.

Maintenance and Safety

These manufacturers say their tire cutters require little maintenance. “No. 1: you need to keep blades in adjustment so they’re not getting worn incorrectly,” Welander says, and rotating the blades is equally important. Eagle’s blades have four cutting edges. “You’ll know when they start to wear out,” Welander says. “You’ll start getting long strips of steel sticking out of the cut.” That’s when to rotate the stationary blades to one of their unused cutting edges. After the bottom blades are rotated twice, rotate the movable blade, he says. A set of blades that have been properly rotated and adjusted should last through 100,000 tires, he says.

For TSISSG, maintaining zero clearance between the blades creates a clean cut and helps the blades wear evenly, Kindel says. He doesn’t recommend machining the edges instead of rotating them, however. “It’s not like having a new blade.” Desco customers can have the blades sharpened at their local machine shop, Smith says.

Greasing the equipment regularly will prolong the cutters’ life, the manufacturers say. “We recommend early morning and early afternoon,” Welander says. That frequency “isn’t going to hurt anything,” Kindel says. “It really depends on how much you use the machine. Some people don’t use it every day; some use it once a week.” The hydraulic fluid should be changed every six months, he adds. The companies provide training, which lasts no more than a day, they say. “We go over everything with [the customers], and then we let them run it and come back … if they have questions,” Welander says.

Safety features on Desco and TSISSG machines include a two-hand valve system—both hands must be on the controls to make a cut, which keeps the operator’s hands away from the blades while cutting. “If you take one hand off, it stops,” Smith says. TSISSG and Eagle cutters also have emergency stop buttons and guarding to keep the operator safe. Kindel says his company provides a safety DVD in English and Spanish.

Cutting: The Cost

Eagle’s equipment ranges in price from about $13,000 to $400,000; options such as a tire lift or a tread-cutting attachment can add $3,500 or $7,000, respectively, Welander says. To justify purchasing one of the largest machines, companies “would have to have access to lots of large OTRs,” he says. “You’d want to keep that machine busy every day, and then you’d want to make something out of those big tires.” TSISSG equipment ranges in price from $8,600 to about $45,000 and about $1,500 for the tire compressor, Kindel says. A new set of blades for the TC-50 is about $1,300, he notes. Desco machines are priced from $10,000 to $60,000. The companies offer complementary equipment that works with the cutters to make more complete systems, including debeaders and derimmers.

Diana Mota is associate editor of Scrap.

If your yard handles a large volume of tires—or a regular supply of large off-the-road tires—a specialized tire cutter can be an efficient way to reduce tire volume for easier storage or hauling and to prepare them for a shredder.