Quality materials matter and when you are building vibratory equipment, the engineering is what makes it last. A vibratory separator is built to take a beating so the rest of your line doesn’t have to, leaving more uniform material for your secondary screening process.
By Dick Reeves
Trommels have been a staple of the recycling industry for years due to their low cost and simple design. When first brought on to the scene, trommels were a great way to screen and separate. However, as years have passed, the process has demanded a more robust solution. New innovations in vibratory separation mean now a primary screen can deliver superior separation and classification. Eliminating the rotary action of a trommel means an increased screening area is achieved in the same footprint and material is screened faster and more effectively. Vibrating screens are more durable, abrasion resistant and structurally reinforced. What happens to a rotary trommel when an abusive contaminate invades your waste stream such as a disk brake or concrete block? Tumbling through a trommel screen can tear the fragile mesh of the screen requiring maintenance repairs three to four times a week. A more durable screening deck can handle these kind of contaminants without costly downtime.
More Reliable Continuation
Once material is classified properly using a primary vibratory screen, secondary screens become more reliable for the continuation of your process. In addition, as we approach the holiday season the waste stream becomes saturated with holiday decorations containing string lights, ribbons and hoses that wreak havoc on rotary equipment. This fluctuation in the waste stream can cause nasty jams that take maintenance away from other priorities for hours on end.
Historically, a significant issue for operators in the field was the jamming and blinding of the screen deck. In trommels and other rotary equipment, the rotating elements come in direct contact with the material screen. This presents the risk to trap and tangle grocery bags, lights, and more. The finger deck of a vibratory screener eliminates those issues. The tapered gaps allow things to work themselves out of entrapment with help from the natural movement of the machine. All the while allowing smaller objects to pass through with the rest of the fines. Lights and hoses glide over the top with no rotation to snag and wet organic material does the same with no mesh to clog the rotating parts that grab and pull at the materials.
Handling Rough Material
An important feature of this new vibratory separator is the longer stroke. A longer stroke throws the material farther creating more separation, increased travel speed and the ability to overcome the elastic range of flexible materials. This becomes particularly critical when handling bagged, bulky and other lightweight materials. Another nice effect of the longer stroke is a faster travel rate and thinner bed depth. The thinner bed depth gives superior separation while an increased travel rate pushes the material through more quickly than traditional vibratory screens.
In order for a vibratory separator to be able to take abuse every day, like handling the rough, damaging material at the start of your processing line in the system, it must be structurally reinforced and fabricated from abrasion resistant metals
Increase Your Return on Investment
Quality materials matter and when you are building vibratory equipment, the engineering is what makes it last. A vibratory separator is built to take a beating so the rest of your line does not have to, leaving more uniform material for your secondary screening process.
Lower maintenance, fewer repairs, and a higher quality end product means you spend less money throughout the life of the equipment and increase your return on investment. At the end of the day, this new vibratory separator does the job. Are you ready to consider recharging the front end of your system?
Dick Reeves (Crystal Lake, IL) has been with General Kinematics for more than 20 years starting out as a Design Engineer and moving through many different titles to his current role as Director of Resource Recovery. Since Dick started at General Kinematics, he has developed the C&D market in Australia, joined the CDRA Board of Directors, championed the development of new equipment for the recycling industry and more. Dick can be reached at (815) 444-3519, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.generalkinematics.com.