Ready for any challenge

27 June 2022

Since its market launch in 2018, the feedback from RDF manufacturers for the VEZ 3200 (Vecoplan RDF shredder) has been outstanding. With the VEZ 3200, plant operators can process materials such as household, industrial and production waste, and even bulky waste in either one or two stages – with the result that the machine is being increasingly used in the recycling industry.

We were able to place a lot of machines in the global market,” says Martina Schmidt, Head of the Recycling I Waste division of the Westerwald machine manufacturer. The VEZ is low-maintenance and has excellent levels of throughput capacity and energy efficiency. It is precisely these qualities that have convinced many companies.

For example, more and more cement works are relying on RDFs to reduce the use of expensive primary fuels such as coal and oil in their particularly energy-intensive production, but also to minimise their environmentally harmful CO₂ emissions. In the past, RDFs processed from household, industrial and commercial waste were usually only fed into main burners, with the material pre-shredded and post-shredded in a two-stage process, which achieved the required quality. To raise the substitution rate even more, however, an increasing number of plant operators are also using the processed RDFs at the calciner. Here the material must have a high degree of homogeneity, but not the very fine grain size that is required for the main burner. The VEZ 3200 is so powerful that it can produce a specific particle size of output material in a one-stage process, so these users now need only one shredder.

Convincing flexibility

The many users of the VEZ include not only RDF manufacturers, but an increasing number of recycling companies such as regranulate manufacturers are now also using the machine. Here the quality must be almost as good as new material, and the VEZ shreds pre-sorted, post-consumer plastics. The result is a homogeneous output in large quantities that can be safely fed to downstream processes. The VEZ also masters the shredding of old mattresses without any problems. The recycling ratio of the shredded materials amounts to almost 100%. The metal and the textile covering are recycled, while the foam material is used for insulation. “So our VEZ is used in both thermal and material recycling,” says Martina Schmidt.

Powerful and low-maintenance drive technology

The decisive purchasing factor for most customers, however, is the electric HiTorc motor installed in the VEZ. It has an output of 2x155 kilowatts and drives the rotors directly. There is no need for mechanical drive components such as gears, belt drive, clutch, or hydraulics. This significantly reduces the maintenance effort and saves up to 60% of energy costs compared to conventional drives. The extremely high torque enables a problem-free start-up under load, and the reversing processes at overload are very dynamic. “Even when the machine is fully loaded, as soon as I press the start button, the force is transferred directly to the shaft, and the VEZ starts working within milliseconds,” explains Martina Schmidt. The machine also stops again at the same speed if, for example, there are impurities or non-shreddable materials in the mass. “This prevents damage to important components like the rotor shaft, clutch, and gears, also preventing unplanned stoppages. That’s yet another unique selling point for the VEZ in the market,” says Ms Schmidt.

Especially quiet operation

The HiTorc drive powers up to 110,000 Newton meter on the 3.2 metrelong rotor. This enables even bulky and particularly difficult materials to be processed safely. The high-performance cutting unit ensures a homogeneous grain structure, maximum throughput and reduced heat generation. The knives on the W-rotor patented by Vecoplan are also uniformly arranged, resulting in very quiet operation in combination with the HiTorc drive. This makes daily operation much more pleasant for the operator and for nearby residents: depending on where the facility is located, a noise permit from the regional council would usually be required because residents would be disturbed by the noise from conventional shredders. The VEZ eliminates all the problems associated with overloud operation.

“This extremely smooth running also creates a very high level of investment security for customers,” emphasises Martina Schmidt. Quiet running means little or no vibration – and if machine parts vibrate constantly, they’re going to break down sooner or later. The VEZ can shred a wide range of materials very efficiently, with a high degree of process reliability, and thanks to its high level of availability, the VEZ 3200 will quickly pay for itself.