In a recent metal recycling project, a recycling company decided to remove two newly installed screening machines from another manufacturer and replace them with a single SPALECK 3D COMBI screening machine.
The background: The newly installed screening technology from another manufacturer required constant manual cleaning and, as a result, failed to classify the material with the necessary degree of separation. Fine particles were carried into the target fractions, while long particles ended up in the fine and medium fractions, where they should not have been. In short: Unfortunately, the Screening process only produced suboptimal particle size distributions. In addition, contamination and Blockages occurred in the Screen decks as well as in the material fed into the sorting process.
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If the screening process isn’t right, the entire sorting process suffers
In metal recycling in particular, precise classification by particle size is crucial for sorting quality, production costs, and the performance of the entire plant. Eddy current sorters, sensor and X-ray sorting machines, as well as the innovative LIBS technology, operate with high precision only when the material is fed in defined particle size ranges and is as free as possible from contaminants. In addition, an optimized and consistent material feed is also extremely important for the sorting result.
In this specific case, the inadequate screening process led to:
- Carriage of fine particles into the target fractions
- Long pieces in the feed material for the sorting machines
- Contamination from dust, lint, and other impurities
- increased cleaning and maintenance requirements
- reduced sorting capacity of the downstream equipment
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The Path to the Optimal Solution: Screening Tests at the SPALECK TestCenter
To analyze the causes in detail and find a solution to the problems mentioned above, we conducted extensive screening tests with the customer’s original material at the SPALECK TestCenter.
Based on these tests, the optimal machine configuration and screening technology were determined for the specific material and the defined process.
It quickly became apparent that a SPALECK 3D COMBI, specially configured for this application, could take over the entire screening process previously handled by the two older screening machines, requiring virtually no cleaning and producing four highly precise fractions.
One screening machine replaces two existing machines
After replacing its existing screening technology, the company is achieving significantly better results in material processing.
The new solution enables:
- Four defined screen fractions using just one screening machine
- Clean screening sizes without unwanted long pieces or fine particles
- optimal conditions for downstream sorting technology
- fewer machines and, as a result, a simplified process
- lower production costs per metric ton processed
- The result: higher-quality recycled non-ferrous metals with significantly less effort
With the SPALECK 3D COMBI, the recycling company was able to significantly simplify its screening process while improving the quality of the metal fractions produced.
This project demonstrates that it is not the number of machines used that matters, but rather how precisely they are tailored to the material, the separation sizes, and the process requirements. Take advantage of our SPALECK ModularDESIGN+ principle, which we use to configure the optimal screening machine for your material and process.
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Would you like to know if your screening technology is operating at peak efficiency?
If your screening machine is not achieving the desired separation efficiency, requires more cleaning, or if your sorting system is not delivering the expected results, it’s worth taking a closer look at the screening process and the material feed to your sorting system.
At the SPALECK TestCenter, we test your material under real-world conditions and show you how you can specifically improve throughput, material quality, and Efficiency. We would be happy to advise you on this in person.
Inform now
Book your free screening test at the SPALECK TestCenter now.
