The baling machine industry has come on leaps and bounds since their first iterations to reach the point they’re at today. While the baling space might not be the most glamorous, it’s incredibly important. Without a firm industrial foundation and the people who maintain it, life as we know it would soon crumble.
Did you know that the first industrial baling technology was based on a design used on farms to pack hay? It wasn’t long until their application was found to be useful elsewhere, and we’ve been improving the design ever since.
The wheels of progress continue to turn, now more than ever. Read on to discover five innovative baling machine technologies sure to cause a stir within the industry!
Automated Baling Systems
When it comes to the most impressive and impactful technological inventions ever conceived, automation is definitely up there. The design and implementation of a system that runs without constant human intervention easily free up thousands of man-hours. Automation enables an improvement in production and general efficiency several orders of magnitude preferable to more conventional methods.
Replacing a human-centric product line is no mean feat, however. Every step done by a man has to be done by the machine, which is a complicated task to achieve, to say the least. It’s not just the manipulation of material that’s the problem; it’s correctly identifying it and acting accordingly, which is a serious engineering puzzle to overcome.
Fortunately, advancements in the field of robotics have made many of the typical problems of the past a trifle to contend with today. Efficiency, labour costs, and safety for workers have all improved to the point where automation reigns supreme and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
Horizontal Balers With Continuous Feed
Each new technological advancement seeks to improve upon or outright remove a tedious aspect from an existing system. Part of the problem with conventional balers is that they require downtime to fill them with the materials they’re baling.
An obvious solution to this was to change the orientation of the baler to allow for a continuous feed system, putting an end to frequently stopping and starting again.
With the use of integrated conveyor belts and some clever portioning and feeding engineering, the system rarely ever needs to be shut down. This improvement vastly increases throughput, making it an essential upgrade for industrial-scale applications.
Large volumes of materials moved automatically and efficiently without pause are becoming the standard for these types of solutions.
Wherever efficiency is the bleeding edge in terms of the bottom line, these innovations in waste management tools are welcomed with open arms.
Two-Ram Balers
Usually, balers are equipped with a single cylinder that compresses the material into the desired form, such as a tight rectangle. This cylinder isn’t typically designed to also eject a wide range of materials after compressing them.
The addition of a second cylinder expressly for the purpose of ejecting the bale significantly improves the baler’s ability to be used with conventionally difficult materials.
The versatility of a two-ram baler allows for a far wider range of materials to be baled. Textiles, plastics, and metals are all perfectly suitable to be baled in a two-ram system, where previously specific balers were required for each material. For industrial applications, the use of these high-efficiency balers means freeing up considerable space on the factory floor and increasing versatility across the board.
Energy-Efficient Balers
Running industrial machines at a constant rate, sometimes with zero downtime apart from necessary maintenance, is heavy on energy consumption. When the goal is to make a profit, it only makes sense to purchase a baling machine that runs economically, at least in comparison to others.
The improved technologies used in reducing energy expenditure include things like energy-efficient motors, hydraulic systems, and improved software that better monitors and regulates power consumption.
Depending on the current load, the system’s power draw is reduced to better match that which is required, rather than running at full power all the time. In the current climate of environmental controls and governmental grants for making a change to more sustainable, energy-efficient balers are a tantalizing prospect.
Intelligent Recycling Technology
It seems no industry is being left behind when it comes to the dawn of AI, and baling machines are no different. Wherever it pays to process and make sense of vast amounts of information, the Internet of Things is going to make its mark. For baling machines, this means real-time monitoring of the material passing through them.
The addition of a multitude of sensors and various other devices allows for machine performance data, maintenance needs, and material properties to be collated and made readily accessible in real time. Data collected in this way is incredibly valuable, preventing disaster long before it occurs and streamlining the process as a whole.
The inclusion of what appears at face value as unnecessary complication actually serves to make the process considerably more simple.
Especially as these upgrades allow for information to be accessed remotely, as well as the operation of the machine itself. Wherever you are in the world, you’ll be able to check up on the status of the baler, its workload, and all the statistics it has collected during your absence.
For managers of industrial plants, this allows for tighter control and increased efficiency over operations at large. If anything goes wrong, you won’t have to wait for a phone call; you’ll be notified immediately by the machine itself.
Baling Machine Perfection
Since 1994, we’ve installed 350 different baling machines and systems all over the world, and the experience we’ve gained from doing so is what powers our family business. We can say with complete confidence that when it comes to the manufacture and design of tailor-made waste disposal and recycling equipment, we stand among the very best.
If you’re interested in purchasing a baling machine from us or have any questions about our methods or hardware, don’t hesitate to get in touch. Rest assured we’re not so big that we’d ever ignore an honest inquiry!