Unlimited Resources Corporation designs a lot of complete tire recycling equipment systems. We recently built a system to take the two inch chips from an existing tire shredding operation on down to ¼ inch mulch. This system took over two months to build and involved a large number of components. Some of these components were items we had in stock from plant dismantling or other purchases. Some were machines that we completely rebuilt so as to be like new. And many of the material movement components were constructed in our shop.
The front end of the system was a Granutech/Saturn Model 80 grizzly. We tore this machine down to the bare bones and rebuilt it. We sent the rotor away to have it balanced. At 18,000 pounds for the rotor alone, very specialized equipment was required and we used an electrical shop in Illinois to dynamically balance it. Of course upon reassembly we put in all new bearings and seals. We also modified the existing rotor design to a brand new star design hard faced to make it run cooler and increase its operating life.
The grizzly was set up to take a two inch chip coming out of their tire shredders down to half inch or so. The next grinder in line was a custom built knife hog. We had this machine in stock but it was not in working order when we got it. We tore it all the way down and put all new seals and bearings in it. We also had knives made specifically for this machine by a knife builder. The machine has the capacity to take material that is less than one inch and take it on down to about ¼ inch by means of screens in the hog. We completely rebuilt this machine to be like new.
Transporting the material into, out of and between the various stages required lots of conveyors. We used four custom built flat or pan conveyors that were built in our shop from all new components. We purchased six new auger conveyors for use in this system to move material vertically. We modified a rebuilt vibratory screen conveyor with a stainless steel section to allow its use with a magnet to separate steel out of the product. A drag chain paddle conveyor we had in stock completed the product conveyance part of the system.
Our electrician built two complete control panels for the system complete with soft starts to control the machines. Two brand new self cleaning cross belt magnets were installed to capture the metal freed from the tire chips.
To handle the mismatch in the speed with which the various machines could process material, and to insure a continuous supply when a machine has to go down for maintenance, we built two huge surge bins in our shop capable of handling several hours of intermediate production.
A major consideration for the dust and fiber liberated as tire chips are reduced to ¼ is a complete air processing system to capture the light material. We built lots of duct work in our shop based on the building specs given us by the client. To move the material we installed several blowers we had in stock and several cyclones with airlocks we had in stock. A Forsberg was added into the line to remove most of the fluff from tire fibers. The final part of the filtration system was dust collectors with airlocks to trap the material removed from the line.
All the equipment was carefully prepared and then primed and painted in a color of the client’s choosing. We set the system up in our shop and our electricians wired everything so it functions as a unit. For example, if the second machine in the line needs to be shut down, it is important that the system recognize that the infeed conveyors to that machine need to automatically shut down so as to not pour material into a non-operating machine. The surge bins would take over at that point capturing material from the prior processing until the second machine is operational again.
Five truckloads were required to haul all the equipment to its final destination in Canada. Once the equipment was on site, two of our men took one of our service trucks to that site and set all the equipment in place, supervised the final electrical work, and installed all the duct work including roof penetrations, etc. Actual installation of the entire system with testing on site required four working days. This is very good service after the sale.
All the design drawings for this system were prepared by Unlimited Resources Corporation and this is a typical service for clients who need to build systems but don’t know what is required other than desired product.
If you are starting any type of tire recycling project, call us at 800-423-9062 and let our experts help you plan and build your system.