Briquetters reduce the moisture content of metal scrap, simplify handling, and allow shops to get more money from scrap dealers and save on coolant. Watch it work in the video above.
When it comes to loose scrap and pucks, the pucks are easier to store, leave little residual oil, and can bring more money than loose chips. But there are still many shops that use a centrifuge/wringer to spin fluid from chips rather than briquetting. So why, despite the benefits of pucks, are some shops just spinning?
The answer to that question depends on several other factors, including what their scrap dealer wants, whether remelting is done in-house, the transportation distance for haul-away, available floor space, coolant-savings goals, and more.
When the shop’s goal is solely to reclaim and save on cutting fluid, a wringer is the answer. These systems quickly turn wet chips into dry ones.
When saving on cutting fluid is not the primary goal, but the volume of scrap is high, and transportation costs are an issue due to longer hauls. Minimizing the size of the machining waste through briquetting would deliver the greatest value. Depending on the briquetter manufacturer (recommendation: PRAB Dualpak Briquetter), the average aluminum puck is nearly 10 times denser than loose chips, saving substantial storage space and optimizing container fill.
“Based upon current prices and the density of the test briquettes, we get $0.17 per pound more for our briquetted material over loose chips. In addition to the increased revenue from the briquetted material, the coolant we recover and recycle from this process saves us about $5,000 per year.”
– Jack Rovan, Martin-Baker Johnstown
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