Electronics Shredders

After the demanufacturing process, the next step in the electronics recycling hierarchy is recycling. Automated shredders are a key machine for the liberation of materials for recycling by high volume electronics recyclers. Such equipment is offered by several vendors. Many options are available, depending upon the specific application. Before making an investment, potential buyers should understand such factors as:

• Assortment of items to be recycled
• Volume of throughput
• Requirements of residual buyers in terms of such parameters as particle size

A flat incline belt is often used to feed electronic waste into the shredder. Material can be placed on the belt through a variety of methods, depending on the particular operation. Material handling equipment assigned to perform this task can include grappling devices, front-end loaders, forklifts and drop-bottom containers.

Solutions of choice typically involve low speed, high torque units that slowly tear material apart, minimizing problems such as imbedding metal in plastic during the shredding process, for example.

Where large items are to be shredded versus a stream of only smaller items, a larger primary breakdown unit may be required. A second pass can be then made with a secondary shredder or granulator to further reduce particle size and facilitate the liberation of recyclable materials. Sizing screens are utilized to ensure a uniformly sized product. Some vendors offer a single pass machine that will do both the primary breakdown and particle reduction.

A variety of sorting machines can be used to sort material for maximum recovery.