Material Baling Guide
Wide Mouth Series (Single Ram Extrusion)
The following is a recommended starting point for baling some of the many different grades of material. Further adjustment and experimentation may be required to further meet your baling goals.
Your baler and fluffer system offers a multitude of adjustments that will allow the baler to handle many grades of material. Here is a review of some of the important adjustments.
FLUFFERS
The fluffer(s) help to condition the material and lowers the free density in the bale chamber. By lowering the free density, the material will shear more easily, and the pad size will be reduced. (Every cycle of the baler is one pad.) The number of pads per bale will effect the overall bale quality and stability. The more pads per bale, the better the bale quality and stability, though production rates will decrease. Ideally, a balance must be reached between bale quality and production rates.
The fluffer(s) help to condition the material and lowers the free density in the bale chamber. By lowering the free density, the material will shear more easily, and the pad size will be reduced. (Every cycle of the baler is one pad.) The number of pads per bale will effect the overall bale quality and stability. The more pads per bale, the better the bale quality and stability, though production rates will decrease. Ideally, a balance must be reached between bale quality and production rates.
The fluffer(s) should be used on all material that is slippery, in stacks or booklets. Some examples are ONP, CPO, White Bond, Magazine Stock, and Plastic Bottles. Do not fluff OCC, stringy, or aluminum material.
HIGH \ LOW CYCLE SENSORS
Note: High Cycle Is Optional
The purpose of the high \ low sensors is to control the material depth in the hopper at which the baler commences the cycle. Always set the infrared cycling devices as high as possible. For best results on most grades, set the high cycle infrareds at the top of the lower hopper. The low cycle eye should be set at the low to mid point position depending on what is being baled.
Note: High Cycle Is Optional
The purpose of the high \ low sensors is to control the material depth in the hopper at which the baler commences the cycle. Always set the infrared cycling devices as high as possible. For best results on most grades, set the high cycle infrareds at the top of the lower hopper. The low cycle eye should be set at the low to mid point position depending on what is being baled.
PARTIAL RETRACT
Partial retract gives the baler the ability to control the pad size of material with high free density. If the free density is to great, the baler will have trouble shearing and bale quality will suffer. By using partial retract, the baler takes smaller bites of material. This makes it easier to shear through the material, and the extra one or two pads per bale makes the bale quality much better.
MATERIAL BALING CONSIDERATIONS
OCC
OCC is one of the easiest materials to bale, but there are a few considerations to keep in mind.
- Large pieces may bridge or cause a jam at the hopper or conveyor.
- Large pieces may hang off the end of the conveyor and block the jam level eye causing the conveyor to stop.
- Large pieces will slow your production rate.
Plastic
Baling plastic is easy; the hard part is to keep the bales intact after they exit the bale chamber. Because plastic is low in friction and high in expansion, special considerations are required.
- Plastic should always be baled behind a high friction material such as OCC. You should only make one to three bales before switching back to another high frictional material. Normally this is not a problem due to the high number of bottles required even to make one bale.
- Bottles should be perforated, or the caps removed to prevent trapped air.
- Because plastic has such high expansion rates start with a bale length of about 30 inches and slowly increase the bale length to determine the maximum length bale your wire can contain.
PLASTIC MODE
The plastic mode is designed to allow the plastic bale to expand prior to tying. To achieve this the tension is dumped in the plastic mode for an operator-selected amount of time. After the bale has expanded the allotted time the bale is tied. Only one or two bales of plastic can be made this way, then the operator must shift to another grade of material to reestablish the density in the chamber. If too many bales are attempted or the plastic mode parameters are exceeded the computer will lose control of the desired bale length.
The plastic mode is designed to allow the plastic bale to expand prior to tying. To achieve this the tension is dumped in the plastic mode for an operator-selected amount of time. After the bale has expanded the allotted time the bale is tied. Only one or two bales of plastic can be made this way, then the operator must shift to another grade of material to reestablish the density in the chamber. If too many bales are attempted or the plastic mode parameters are exceeded the computer will lose control of the desired bale length.
- Slightly longer bales can be made if the bales are banded or wrapped in shrink-wrap as soon as the bale exits the chamber.
- Keep the tier and needle tunnels clean. Plastic may interfere with the tying process causing wires to miss. It may be necessary to stop the baler after each tie for cleaning and or re-threading a missed wire. It is imperative to have the best possible ties on plastic bales.
Light Metals
Baling light metal is not difficult.
- Always bale behind a high frictional material such as OCC.
- Keep the tier and needle tunnels clean. Light metals may interfere with the tying process causing wires to miss.
- Light metals may get behind the plunger wiper and interfere with the proximity switches. Clean behind wiper after finishing with light metals.
MATERIAL REQUIRING FLUFFING
One of the biggest mistakes most customers make is to over feed the fluffer system. The fluffers can only process a certain amount of material per minute. Exceeding this feed rate only causes the material to spin off and bypass the fluffers with out being processed. Just like on some cars if you try to pour oil into the crankcase to fast the extra oil just over flows and runs down the outside of the fill tube and onto the floor.
For best result keep the material on the belt evenly distributed, and about 6 to 12 inches deep.
- Empty spots on the belt equals lost production time.
- Large clumps of material spin off the fluffer blades, resulting in poor bale quality.
- For increased production, do your major sorting in the sorting area and not on the conveyor feed belt.
- Cut the strings on tied bundles.
| Material | Cycle Selection | Fluffer | Partial Retract | Notes |
| OCC | Low | OUT | OFF | 2 |
| ONP | High | IN | ON - 3/4 OPEN | 1 |
| Plastic | High | IN | OFF | 3,4,5 |
| Light Metals | Low | OUT | ON - 2/3 OPEN | 4,6 |
| High Grades | High | IN | ON - 3/4 OPEN | 1,7,8 |
| High Grade Stringy or Shredded | High | OUT | ON - 3/4 OPEN | 8 |
Note 1. Control the feed on the belt and keep at 6 - 12 inches deep.
Note 2. If a stall at the shear point occurs then lower the cycling device if possible.
Note 3. Bale behind high frictional material like OCC.
Note 4. Start the bale behind OCC.
Note 5. Set the bale length to 30" or to the limits of your wire.
Note 6. If a stall at the shear point occurs set partial retract to 1/2 open. Cycle the baler manually when the material reaches the top of the shear.
Note 7. If a stall occurs reduce the partial retract time and try again. (Makes the opening smaller)
Note 8. If the tension dump light fails to illuminate on at least every other cycle the tension system may need adjusting, or it may be necessary to switch back to OCC to get the baling pressure back up.
the difference is in the name - american baler
