Industrial Balers
Industrial balers, also known as industrial baling machines or industrial baler machines, are generally large equipment utilized by automotive, plastic product manufacturing, industrial manufacturing, retail, food service, education, oil, and agricultural industries every day.
Quick links to Industrial Balers Information
Applications of Industrial Balers
Usually made of steel, industrial balers are used to convert materials into bales for shipment and disposal, recycling, and/or secondary processes. Bales, which are simply materials that have been compressed or compacted into and bound as bundles, are most often made up of waste and byproducts. The creation of bundles is advantageous because bundles, which are comparably dense and small, are easier to handle and less expensive to transport than unbundled waste.
Differences Between Industrial Balers and Industrial Compactors
A term often used interchangeably with baler is “compactor,” and while industrial balers and compactors perform quite similar duties, they are, in fact, different equipment. Mainly, they differ by function. First, while balers are most often paired with applications relating to recycling, trash, and agricultural material compaction, compactors are more frequently used with waste that is intended for a landfill. Next, balers work by compacting and binding materials, whereas compactors usually compress and flatten materials. The materials that industrial balers work with are many and diverse. These include paper, cloth, plastic, metal, agricultural products such as hay, and waste products like garbage. Industrial balers are essential tools for any recycling facility to have.
How Industrial Balers Work
Most commonly, industrial balers are powered by an electric motor that works in conjunction with a hydraulic system that aids the process by reducing energy and heat loss. The area in which materials are loaded into an industrial baler is called the input area, and, depending on its configuration, material may enter the input area by hand, air systems, loader systems, or conveyor. Once inside the input area, materials are passed by pumps that, for the sake of worker safety and sanitation, remove any and all leftover liquids. From here, the materials move into a chamber deeper inside the baler, where they are pounded, smashed, or squeezed into a more compact form by a heavy and powerful ram. After this, the newly created bundles are usually bound with a form of plastic, wire, or string. Note that industrial balers can either work on their own, or they can function as a member of a system with a shredder and/or a conveyor.
Types of Industrial Balers
By and large, industrial balers are divided into two categories: vertical and horizontal. They are named for the respective way in which they are loaded and the direction in which they process material; vertical balers are loaded over the top, while horizontal balers are loaded on the side. The main advantage of vertical balers is the fact that they produce far less waste and take up less space than horizontal balers. However, they require manual unloading, which significantly slows the speed of their output. Horizontal balers, on the other hand, are far less space efficient and produce more waste than vertical balers, but they do offer the advantage of a greater load capacity.
Less common and/or specialized types of industrial balers include auto tie balers, manual tie balers, two ram balers, and tire baling machines. Auto tie balers are a type of horizontal baler, specially designed with automatic tying equipment. This equipment ties up the bales as they exit the machine. Auto tie balers are a good purchase to consider for use with bundles of material that are at risk for falling apart if they are not quickly bound. Manual tie balers, on the other hand, require the manual binding of bundles. Two ram balers, as their name suggests, use two hydraulic rams instead of one. Tire baling machines, using strong hydraulic arms, compress rubber tires only.
Benefits of Using Industrial Balers
Any company interested in saving time, space, and money as well as reducing their carbon footprint should invest in an industrial baler. These machines create more organized work environments, simplify recycling and waste processes, and reduce harmful emissions. In addition, they lower the costs associated with labor and material removal fees. For more information, interested parties should reach out to an experienced and reputable baler supplier or manufacturer.