
Photo courtesy of Rotogran
Rotogran International, the Ontario-based size reduction equipment manufacturer for the plastics and recycling industry, recently made new advancements to its line of granulators that it says will maximize throughput and longevity for customers.
The new advancements include using tool steel replaceable wear inserts in all its recycling granulators. In addition, Rotogran introduced a new pathway deflector into the cutting chamber.
“One of our big strengths is the front-end application engineering where we look at the machines up close and evaluate where it can improve to maximize throughput,” Rotogran International President Mike Cyr says. “The key is listening to what the customers are saying and learning if they’re experiencing any difficulties. These latest innovations we’ve launched are all designed to provide maximum production for recyclers and processors.”
Rotogran has offered inserts for wear resistance for its granulators for years—regular mild steel insets coated with tungsten carbide. However, since tungsten carbide is so brittle, it tends to break off easily given the impact with hard plastic. To improve abrasive wear, Rotogran changed all its inserts to tool steel, which does not chip, extending the useable life of the inserts, according to the company.
Rotogran’s engineers designed a system where the wear areas of the granulator chamber are fitted with removable inserts. These updates to tool steel inserts target abrasive materials that are extremely dirty or glass-filled plastics. The company says the inserts can be replaced without disassembling the entire granulator chamber, and the operation can be performed in less time than a typical blade change.
“Companies are recycling a wider assortment of products, including the dirty stuff that others won’t take, thus requiring higher productivity and improved wear resistance,” Cyr says. “We designed the removable inserts within the granulators so that when they wear down from use, they can be replaced with a new insert, making the total change-over easy and economical.”
For those working with a granulator and a shredder, Rotogran has introduced a pathway deflector into the cutting chamber. This deflects the partially cut material directly back into the cutting circle for cutting again. This is offered as a bolt-in replaceable optional upgrade to help increase throughput and is usually used in conjunction with a shredder.
“It greatly improves throughput, and recyclers love it,” Cyr says.
According to the company, all the parts for Rotogran granulators are stocked and/or manufactured on-site at its headquarters in Bolton, Ontario.
“We’re not importing offshore components and simply assembling in Ontario and then calling it ‘North American built.’ We construct it all at our facility here in Bolton,” Cyr says. “Our door is always open, and people can come and see for themselves.”
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