BCA designs tire shredder for productivity

Milwaukee-based BCA Industries has designed its PD1000 IO X tire shredder so it can overcome what it calls the logistical bottleneck involved in the loading and unloading of material before and after shredding.

“The challenge is that portable shredding systems have not been designed to take advantage of one of the recycling industry’s most labor-efficient types of containers: open-top walking floor semi-trailers, which simplify loading and unloading,” states the company.

“Traditional portable shredders cannot reach the height of an open-top walking floor semi-trailer, which is the standard in the recycling industry,” says John Neuens, an industrial consultant with BCA Industries.

“When loading scrap containers, typical portable shredder conveyors can only reach about 9 feet high at best, while the ubiquitous semi-trailers can be up to 13 feet high. As a result, tire recyclers have been limited to using roll-off trailers or dumpsters with these kinds of systems.”

Neuens and BCA describe the company’s PD1000 IO X as a portable, high-volume shredder specifically designed to work with open-top walking floor semi-trailers. The portable shredding system minimizes production downtime and maintenance costs by using readily available off-the-shelf parts and quick-replace cutter heads, according to Neuens.

“Now, recyclers can rapidly shred tires and reach the heights needed to load open-top walking floor semi-trailers without moving any of the shredding equipment,” Neuens says.

He says the latest BCA dual-shaft, low-speed, high-torque shear shredding system can shred automotive and light-duty truck tires at a volume of 4 to 5 tons per hour. Operators also can shred semitrailer truck treads after sidewall removal, according to BCA.

The PD1000 IO X system consists of the PD1000 shredder along with a PD1000 IO conveyor, a unique double-jointed system that hydraulically “unfolds” to a height of 13 feet.

The conveyor feeds tires into the shredder’s 36-inch by 28-inch cutting chamber where two-inch by 14.625-inch four-hook knives shred the material to the desired size. The larger unfolding section deposits the shredded material into the open top of the walking floor trailer.

The PD1000 IO X system is transportable with a non-CDL vehicle such as a one-ton pickup truck. The power unit is completely self-contained diesel/hydraulic system that does not require additional electrical connections or a concrete slab for use.

In addition to processing scrap tires, BCA says operators can also use the PD1000 IO X to recycle plastic, pallets, electronic scrap, construction and demolition materials, ferrous and nonferrous metals, furniture, paper and clothing.

BCA says that while with some high-torque shredders, the cost of repair and downtime can be excessive, particularly when waiting for an overseas supplier to refurbish or rebuild the cutting head. For this reason, some tire recyclers keep a full-time millwright or mechanic on staff.

To help reduce downtime and maintenance costs, BCA says its PD1000 shredder does away with the typical complex gearbox and instead utilizes a double, heavy-duty chain drive. An inexpensive “off-the-shelf” American-made hydraulic system uses dual motors that are readily available, BCA adds.

When needed, maintenance personnel can quickly and inexpensively replace every part of the PD1000 cutting head, says the company, and they can remove the shredder’s modular head from the system and replace it in less than one hour, or maintain it safely at ground level.

BCA also offers a shredder head service program that can reduce downtime. With that program, a forklift can remove the head so it can then be shipped to the manufacturer and be returned within seven to 14 days if an extra set of knives is purchased. “The service program eliminates the need to have highly skilled technicians on staff for shredder maintenance, reducing labor costs, and the rebuild comes with a factory warranty,” BCA Industries says.

“The PD1000 IO X is designed to be the least expensive per ton system to operate,” Neuens says.