Margins Improved by Reducing Container Volume and Weight

PRAB, Inc., a designer and manufacturer of conveyors and metal processing systems, has partnered with a metal scrap recycler to improve container loading at a stamping facility. "The partnership mitigated capital risk for the recycler, optimized the weight and volume on the haul-away containers and reduced transportation costs," said a PRAB spokesperson.

PRAB, working with a regional scrap metal recycler outside Fort Wayne, IN, designed and built an orbital shuttle load-out system that maximized container capacity with complete and consistent fill. The new system was built into the contract between the recycler and the stamping company, requiring no capital investment by the stamping company, and offered the recycler a short return on the investment.

The Orbital Shuttle System is engineered with a traversing steel belt conveyor mounted on a rotating plate. Metal stamping scrap entering the system moves forward down the length of the steel belt conveyor and is discharged into a targeted section of the container. The traversing design moves the conveyor forward and back. This movement allows the scrap to be strategically deposited within the container, evenly filling by reducing large space gaps. The shuttle system is equipped with level sensors programmed to move the conveyor a set distance and stop, allowing the scrap to fill the container at that point. When the scrap level reaches the program setting, the conveyor indexes to another set point over the container and the filling process continues. Once the process is completed and the container full, the traversing steel belt conveyor moves back or forward to fill the second container that is parallel to the first.

The system installed at the stamping company provided for efficient, automated and even filling of the metal recycling containers. The complete fill meant the recycler was only hauling and transporting when the container was full, reducing transportation costs. The Orbital Shuttle System completely automated the loading process and improved uptime for the stamping facility and required fewer visits for the recycler.

PRAB engineers and builds complete, tailored load-out systems for scrap management, and also engineers complete in-plant conveying systems for automated scrap management directly from presses, lasers and other operating centers.

For more information contact:

PRAB, Inc.

5944 East N Avenue

Kalamazoo, MI 49048

800-968-7722

sales@prab.com

www.prab.com