A FastPac Briquetter along with a vertical chip crusher and two conveyor units reduce chip volume by up to a 4:1 ratio for Eagle Bridge Machine & Tool.
By replacing over half its existing stand-alone machine tools with a pair of two-machine automated cells, Eagle Bridge Machine & Tool Inc. in Eagle Bridge, N.Y., increased machining production approximately 40% for large, complex railroad-car and heavy-machinery castings. But with that increase came a 50% upsurge in chip volume.
"With over 1 1 /2 ton of chips and cuttings created daily, we had to have an efficient system for handling this amount of scrap or much of our productivity gains would be quickly offset," explains Tony Farrara, production manager at Eagle Bridge. The answer was a Mayfran chip-compaction system that reduces chip volume by up to a 4:1 ratio.
The system combines a FastPac Briquetter with a vertical chip crusher and two conveyor units. It transforms metalworking chips, strings, nests, fines, sludge, and space-wasting air into dense, dry, compact briquettes. This eliminates cutting fluid and coolant-spill-liability risks during transport and increases reclaimable fluid amounts. There is also no need for large areas to accommodate scrap storage, which provides a cleaner, safer, and more-efficient work environment.
"Before installing the new system, we had a 30-yd dumpster that held about a week's worth of loose chips," says Farrara. "Now, a 12-yd container holds up to 20,000 lb of briquettes."
The shop feeds the system four containers of loose chips, each with a 300-lb load. In return, it gets one container weighing 1,200 lb. In the evenings, the system gets four containers and runs unmanned.
According to Mayfran, FastPac's dual-stage compacting process and dual-action compression/ejection cycle require less horsepower than other briquetters. This translates to lower energy consumption and operating costs.
Mayfran International
Cleveland
mayfran.com
