Vertical Balers
A vertical baler is one of the two basic styles of industrial balers which are used to compress and bind materials, the other style being horizontal. The style of industrial baler differentiates in the way the material travels through the machine as well as in the way the material is loaded into the machine. Vertical balers take up take up less floor space than horizontal balers and are generally used in smaller facilities that produce low amounts of waste and deal with scrap that is light in density and in volume. Typical scrap materials that vertical balers process include old corrugated cartons, shrink wrap, non-ferrous scrap, textiles, plastic bottles and aluminum cans, with benefits in industries including health care, education, industrial manufacturing, food services and commercial.
Vertical balers either have input areas, loading areas, on the top or in the front of the machine. The input area leads to a chamber where the material is pounded, smashed or squeezed into a compact size. The compaction of the material is powered through a hydraulic system, generally designed to minimize heat output and energy loss. The material is then bound, often using wire, plastic or string. The bound material is referred to as a bale and offers improved handling, disposal, transportation or secondary processing versus the raw material. The bales need to be manually unloaded from the vertical bailer once the process is complete. Vertical balers are typically single-load machines, but multi-bin vertical balers are available that have more than one chamber and can process different types or grades of materials.
As recycling becomes more central to industrial and manufacturing processes, vertical baling equipment will continue to play a central role in the process as well. Materials are baled and compacted in order to be shipped to recycling facilities to be reused in the production of future items within the same industry, such as scrap metal recycled into new sheet metal for car bodies. Sometimes material can be re-used to create an entirely new material, such as the recycling of newsprint for the creation of fibers used in shoe soles. An environmentally friendly process, most vertical baler manufacturers offer information such as the vertical baler's carbon footprint, or the machine's total greenhouse gas emissions, so that consumers can be aware of the environmental impact.