Materials Processing: Understanding the Role of a Baler Machine

14 Mar.,2024

 

Did you know that the size of the European baler machine market is expected to grow considerably from 2021 to 2027?

Baler machines are among the most effective recycling and waste management solutions. Balers condense sorted waste into easy-to-transport blocks. Balers’ efficiency and safety help facilities that create waste due to their production process.

The recycling skills of balers have been a fantastic ‘environmental’ mark of recognition for businesses seeking to be ecologically responsible in a time of growing eco-concerns.

What role do baler machines play in material processing? What factors should you consider before selecting a baler? This Baler Machine guide will teach you all you need to know.

The History of Baler Machines

With the development of several new machineries in the late 1800s and early 1900s, farming changed considerably. Previously, they stored hay loose in the upper storey of the barn, or “hayloft”, where it took up a lot of room.

They found that they could store more hay inside the same area by compressing or baling it. Horses moving on an angled treadmill powered one of the first balers. With each horse step, the wood and leather treadmill belt spun a shaft, which powered a chain drive.

 

 

The chain drive drove a plunger via a series of sprockets, compressing the hay. Hay was forked into the baling compartment by hand from the field. When the bale was the correct size, wooden pieces were dropped into the chamber.

Then finally, they secured and tied the bale with wire or twine.

As technology advanced, they replaced the horse with a steam traction engine. Then the steam engine was finally replaced by an internal combustion tractor.

Next, tractors pulled balers during the 1930s and automatically scooped hay from the ground. Finally, in the late 1960s, advances in hydraulics enabled the development of the big round baler

The first scrap material balers were compactors, which MS Wells invented in 1941 to compact oil cans. These were further developed in the 1970s to condense residential garbage using water pressure from water lines.

A Baler What Is It?

You use balers in recycling activities. A hydraulic press is typically used to compact items into a compressed package of a specific size. You use balers for various reasons, including:

  • Lower the volume of waste handling and improve shipment efficiency
  • Saving from not having to dispose of large quantities of materials
  • Earning potential from the selling of baled materials

Balers reduce waste disposal costs by reducing the time spent handling materials, using less room for recycling containers, and increasing the number of products your company can recycle.

Balers, How Do They Work?

How do balers work? Balers are supported by a steel frame that houses a hydraulic hammer powered by an electric engine pump.

The cylinder is subsequently pressurised with hydraulic oil, which drives the hammer (ram) against the baled substance. The hammer compresses the material into a compact block or bale in the bale chamber. It is then secured and discharged from the baler.

Who Uses A Baler?

A baling system can help companies and facilities create many recyclable waste materials. Businesses produce waste as a byproduct of their production process, from distribution, manufacturing, and recycling centres to paper mills and document destruction centres.

Different Types of Baler Equipment

There are many different Baler machines. You must select balers based on:

  • The type of product to be baled
  • Product loading techniques
  • Transport and processing dimensions
  • Rate of production

Since using balers produces a financial benefit, comparing the baler’s expenditure and operation costs to storage and transportation cost savings is vital. Not all situations call for a large, high-output baler. Different baling machines service specific materials and criteria. Let’s look at some balers:

Vertical Baler Machine

This sort of baler compresses goods vertically, downward. Downstroke balers are vertical. They recycle:

  • Cardboard scraps
  • Plastic recyclable materials
  • Metal waste
  • Foam waste

The machine’s side-mounted compression chamber is raised. The hydraulic or electric-powered ram provides compression. After filling the chamber, the ram crushes the materials.

 

 

Manufacturers produce heavy-duty vertical balers with powerful reciprocating pistons. Their sturdy design compacts scraps into standard-size bales.

Vertical balers are smaller than horizontal balers. As a result, they are ideal for small-scale operations such as retail and supermarket stores. In addition, because of their more compact design, they are less expensive.

Horizontal Baler Machine

Horizontal balers compress materials horizontally. Unlike vertical balers, this baler type collects materials in a bin on top of the machine and placed on the ram. Integrating conveyor belt feeding, sorting, and shredder technologies makes loading more accessible and less labour-intensive.

Horizontal balers can process enormous amounts because they’re larger. Larger forces produce denser, half-ton bales. Horizontal balers have uniform-sized bales, making them easier for transport and processing.

Single Hydraulic Ram Baler

A single piston rod produces compression in single ram balers. This is the most common form of a recycling baler. Depending on the direction of the piston, this type might be horizontal or vertical.

Two-Cylinder Balers

Two-barrel balers also referred to as two-cylinder balers, are baling devices that compress material with a single ram and control it with a second ram. They can be vertically or horizontally orientated.

These baler machines are ideal for compacting materials with high elasticity, such as rubber. The placement of the rams allows the power of the rebound effect to be contained and controlled.

Since the opening of a two-ram baler is not restricted by the width of the bale, it can have a bigger feed opening to make loading easier. For chunkier materials, a bigger opening lets you load them faster and reduces the chance that they will get stuck in the hopper.

Two-ram balers are also better because they use less tie-wire. Making the bale denser requires less wire to hold its shape.

These balers make bales that don’t change in size over time. This is because adding more pressure and packing more material together causes the material to undergo a plastic deformation process, in which the material loses its original shape. In turn, this means that the bales don’t need stronger ties.

Liquid Removal Balers

As the names imply, liquid extraction balers not only pack things down but also drain liquid from them. This ability is beneficial for baling waste from:

  • Food containers
  • Drinking bottles
  • Brewed goods

The main thing that sets liquid extraction balers apart from other kinds is the materials they are made of. Almost 90% of the parts that hold them together are made of stainless steel, and the rest are painted to protect them from wear and corrosion.

Also, the liquid extraction balers have a system that keeps the removed liquid in a closed system. This lets the liquid be collected and dumped cleanly and efficiently.

Scrap Metal Processing Balers

Most of the time, these balers are used to process scrap metal. These are two or three rams that can move heavy things like metal.

The two-cylinder metal baler has a pressing lid or wing door and the main ram to squeeze the metals together. On the other hand, the three-cylinder metal baler crushes the metals in all different directions. A pressing lid presses the metals to the size of the baler while the additional two rams squeeze the material together.

Like the two-ram balers, metal balers have big openings to let more material in. The size of the bales doesn’t affect how big the openings can be. Cranes are usually used to feed materials.

Another thing about metal balers is that they do not automatically tie the bales together. However, metals deform when compressed, so they usually keep their shape after being pressed.

Round Balers

This kind of baler is used to pack things like crops into bales. A tractor usually pulls a round baler through the field to gather animal feed, such as dry hay or crops.

As the tractor gathers this animal feed, it is moved into the baling compartment, where a series of belts and rollers roll the raw material together. A mechanism automatically ties the bail when the proper density and size have been reached. After tieing the round bale, the baler opens and lets it go.

Choose the Right Baler Machine for Your Needs

A baler machine is an excellent piece of equipment for recycling. When these materials are compressed into bales, they take up far less room than they would if left in overflowing bins and be costly to empty.

 

 

Are you looking for a baling application customised to suit your business? Then contact us! We have a superior production level and dedicated professional staff that ensures high expertise in customised waste and recycling solutions.