Big Job? No Big Deal for IMT

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A car shredder may look like a monster. After all, it chaws on steel for a living. Big as it is - and tough as the work it does - it is still no match for the IMT guys from IBT.

The shredder is an impressive piece of equipment to watch in operation. Old, broken, used up automobiles are fed in and ground through a massive shredder. In less than a minute, what was once somebody's streamlined ride emerges ground into many pieces, none of them larger than the size of a fist.

Cars are shredded to feed back into the system through a steel mill, foundry or smelter. The metal will be reformed and reborn as part of another product. Recycling metal results in less iron ore being mined and lower prices for finished goods in general.

When the big car-eating machine at Kaw River Shredding needed some serious mechanical attention, the owners knew what to do. They called IBT and started working with IMT (Industrial Maintenance Technologies Group).

It takes some power to shred an automobile, and this shredder has it to spare. A 6000 horse electric motor turns the twelve inch diameter drive shafts. Eight spherical roller bearings hold all the power in place. The massive clutch assures a good start without shocking the system. Finally, the power all gets to the business end: an 80,000 pound rotor with four rows of swinging hammers.

When the shredder started having problems with rotors and bearings, IMT jumped right in. The first job for IBT was to set the clearances on the two new roller bearings. This led to smooth and reliable operation.

Next, IMT gave the shafts and couplings a precision alignment, needed to ensure a long useful life. To reduce the vibrations which can destroy a good bearing, IMT aligned the machines to low tolerances in offset and angular alignment.

After the bearings were set and the shafts aligned, a thorough vibration analysis was performed. To do this, they revved it up to car crunching speed. This not only checked the dynamic balance, it also collected vibration data from all eight bearings.

IMT analysts went through the information to find any hidden problems lurking in the shadows. Once the data was analyzed and the balance was verified to be within an acceptable level, it was back to automotive destruction for this powerful monster.

Whether your machinery eats cars or stirs food - or does any job in between - it can benefit from proper alignment, preventive maintenance and the application of high-tech inspection tools. IMT can do all of that. Find out more from Chris Treat.