I have a problem that for the past two years can not come up with any answer. First let me explain the application: We make fireplaces, about 150,000 per year, each one uses four refractory panels and during the mixing of these panels we install a wire mesh as a binder for each panel. These wire mesh components cost about .70 each and the math comes to about $420,000.00 per year in wire mesh. I did some testing and found if I install a few hundred strips of metal about the size of a paper match into the mix for each panel, the binding is equal to the mesh. I have plenty of scrap metal from 22 to 30 gauge and my only problem is to find a paper shredder on steroids, since I need about 2 million metal matches per day. I have talked to many companies that build machines and nobody has the answer. If anyone could solve this problem there is a round of golf at pebble beach in your future.
M Husted
VP engineering

A couple of questions here.
1. Will the material that you are using for your refractors stick to your scrap metal?
2. Do you have a system for ensuring that you have an even spread of these matches during your pour to provide the required strength?
3. Would your product be adversly affected if some of the matches ended up on the surface?

I worked for a company that made precast concrete structures and the owner had pretty much the same idea that you have. We had a stamping company next dor and he wanted to buy their scrap and use it in place of the reenforcing wire in out structures. We had problems with the concrete sticking to the scrap and keeping the scrap in the center of the concrete and had to abandon the idea.

No there is no problem with using this process. We have done some testing on small samples and it appears to do the job. We pre-mik the metal strips in the refractory mix and it does not settle to the bottom of the mold. Mainly to to the perosity of the mix.

This site might be of some help.
Shred-Tech

I used to work for a great man who produced Capital Eqpt. for thje cabinet making industry. He developed a set of three rolling shears. Wheels with a sharp, squared edge about 5" in dia. approx .100 thick. two outside wheels rotate one direction and the middle wheelcame up in between them overlapping about .100 and turning in the opposite direction. imagine two mandrels holding them 4.900 in. apart. the result is a self-feeding strip cutter. If you put a dozen or two of these wheels on one mandrel and the same number minus one on the other mandrel, then you have a miniature rolling strip mill--also self feeding.

Or go to Sears--- Black and decker copied this design it is a sheet metal shear with the rolling cutters about 1.5 or 2" in dia. you could gang them up if you needed to. I'll bet my former boss never got paid. from the time he invented his cutter (originally for counter-top fomica, etc.) he was always in international court fighting foreign copycats. that would make black and decker a local copy cat???

hope that helps, and i can produce a sketch if that is not clear enough. If this works,a dinner for me and the mrs. would always be enjoyable.

good luck
John

My previous employer had a product called a ARC-SAW. it was a circular saw blade that drew an arc across the edge of the blade. the primary usage was to slice off sections of ingots. what i saw was that the saw cutting off a 4-5 inch dia bar of some nickel composite material. it was taking cuts of about 1/4" which you could see after the cut. quite amazing. but what i was thinking about was a smaller version that could gang up multiple blades to make your thin sections. the arc saw was a developed product. what you could use would take development. anyway here is the web site it it will help. http://www.retechsystemsllc.com you may need to talk with someone about this device. iQ

Venckus has the right idea. The stock will feed better if the wheels are large in diameter, or you may want to serrate the edges. This is basically the way steel (and other metals) are slit into strips, except that you want very narrow stripe, and you are going to be feeding misc. sizes, shapes and thicknesses of scrap metal, instead of a continuous roll. Feeding may be a problem and you may wind up with manual feed, which may be more expensive than the wire mesh. You also have to incorporate some way to cut the strip to the same short matchstick length;.

There is/was a company that makes stainless steel "fibers" like you are talking about, don't remember their name, but the samples I once had suggested strongly, that they took one inch wide strips (long rolls slit to size) and ran them through some sort of shear to produce a "fiber" about .050 square. These were used as reinforcement for concrete, and one of the uses was airport runways. That method probably wouldn't work unless you could robotially feed the slit scrap into the shear one length at a time.

You might make some sort of a shear/punch operating horizontally where you drop the scrap down a narrow slot and it would be "nibbled" in pieces the desired size. The "punch" could be a toothed wheel which would mate/match with a stationary die - as it rotated, the stock would drop down by gravity and be eaten a way in matchstick-sized chunks. Or, you could have a reciprocating punch which would be a lot less expensive to make.

Contact Herr-Voss Stamco that makes sheet metal equipment for the steel industry. http://www.gen-world.com/
As an alternative contact the Casey Equipment Co. for used equipment at http://www.caseyusa.com/contact.cfm

I have no idea how much of a response you get for this
plea for help. I have three suggestions that may be of
value:

Suggestion #1 -
1. Order the material as a drawn wire with specified
diameter and metallurgy.
2. Pass a gang of wires fed through a slotted die
could permit shearing off 24 wires at a time.
3. The wires could then be advanced to a specified
length and sheared again.
4. At 1 cycle per second, 2,000,000 a day can be
achieved. With variations on that theme with the
number of shears, the number of wires cut per shear
cycle, and shear cycle frequency as variables and
still have scheduled down time for die maintenance,
etc. the production goal could be easily met.
5. If the die has a reciprocating motion, the die can
be designed to make a shear stroke to another set of
wires at each end of the stroke thus doubling the
production.
6. Rather than chop off all wires simultaneously and
generate a relatively large impulse load on the
mechanical system, design the die to make a
progressive cut to even out the shock load to the
system.
7. This would most probably be a repeatitive stop and
go operation.

Suggestion #2 -
1. Order the material as a drawn wire of specified
diameter and metallurgy.
2. Feed several dozen (maybe a hundred wires as a flat
ribbon) through a shaped guide that will permit the
wires to pass through a rotating cut-off knife
assembly where the top and bottom shear elements are
attached to upper and lower rotating cut-off knives.
3. The top and bottom blades are rotating in exact
synchronous rotation, the tolerance blade clearances
is defined by the set-up precision preloaded
harringbone gear set.
4. The speed of the wires are determined by a set of
metering rolls nip rollers.
5. The speed of the cut-off blades is designed
controlled to match the wire speed thus defining the
wire length.
6. The speed can be ramped up to a fixed speed to
remain constant until the unwinding spools run out of
wire or get down to some specified diameter.
7. In order to minimize the impulse of the cutting
load, experience suggests that the cut-off knives be
designed to be set with a helical pattern.
8. If the cut-off forces (dependent upon wire shear
strength and diameter) become too high, then the
diameter of the cut-off knife assemblies need to be
increased accordingly.
9. If the speed of the cut-off blades does not match
the wire speed, multiple blades per top and bottom
assemblies could easily improve speed matching.
10. This approach is obviously a more sophisticated
machine with a significant capital investment. This
concept is used all the time in the paper industry for
cutting 8-1/2 x 11 copy paper as a typical example.
The production capacity will truly be immense. For a
hypothetical example, if the cut-off wires were 10"
long and the process speed is 150 fpm, the process of
cutting off 100 wires would generate a production rate
of 18,000 per minute or 1,080,000 per hour.
11. This high production rate will permit adequate
set-up time for the next set of spools of wire.

Suggestion #3 -
1. Repeat the above concept but instead of shearing
the wires, pinch them off just like a set of wire
cutters does.
2. With such a configuration, the nipping rollers
would have to be crowned to compensate for cut-off nip
loads or have back-up rollers to protect against any
bouncing due to the impulse loads of cutting the
wires.

I can think of several other different mechanical
configurations that could easily accomplish the
production objective.

There are so many items missing from the plea for
help: tolerances for width, length, straightness. How
cleanly must the pieces be cut off or pinched.

The remaining question is the amortized cost of the
equipment.

I also recognize from my experience that these ""easy"
solutions may be just one of many solutions arrived at
without really knowing what the full nature of the
problem is.

Please feel free to pass these thoughts on. They may
stimulate a better solution.

Robert G. Lucas

Lee, You missed the essential of his post that he has scrap that he has on site.

You need a combination slitter and scrap chopper to do what he wants to do.
See comapanies on:
http://steellinks.com/pages/Finishing_Equipment/Slitters/index.html

Hi Mr. Husted: Have you found an practical answer to your problem yet? Our machinist thinks he could make you an economical unit to make what you require. Thanks, denny@imr-corp.com

Mr. Hustead,
I am certain we could develop a machine to suit your purpose. We have designed and fabricated several "unique" pieces of prototype and production equipment.
Steve Thomsen
Rochester Industrial Design Inc.

I have a very low cost solution to your problem, that does not involve expensive machinery. The solution is completely different from all the posted emails, does not involve scrap metal, cutting.. If interested, contact me by email
Tenneti Rao
Smartek, www.smartekny.com

Hello,
I am intrested to know if you solved your problem yet. You left no way to contact you. My company makes industrial size paper shreaders if we were to learn more about your needs we may be able to help please respond if you are still searching for an answer. We have already modified some of our Shredders for other types of special shreadding applications.chris.conlee@martinyale.com

I am writing in regards to the gentleman who is looking for ways to “shred” his scrap metal (M. Husted).
I used to work at Challenge Machinery in Grand Haven, MI and they make paper cutters.
As I recall there was a customer who used a 305 paper cutter to cut up steel belted tires.
I think he made sandals out of them. It worked so well he bought another machine.
So I think although the machines are not sold for such an application it may be something to look into.
The Challenge Machinery Company
6125 Norton Center Drive
Norton Shores, MI 49441 USA
Phone: (231) 799-8484
Fax: (231) 798-1275

I hope this helps, John

John E. Melton
Machine/Tool Designer
Shape Corporation
1835 Hayes Street
Grand Haven, MI 49417