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recently made new advancements to its line of granulators aimed at maximizing throughput and longevity for customers.

The new advancements include using tool steel replaceable wear inserts in all of its recycling granulators. In addition, Rotogran introduced a new pathway deflector into the cutting chamber.

“One of our big strengths is the front-end application engineering where we look at the machines up close and evaluate where it can improve to maximize throughput,” says Rotogran International President Mike Cyr. “The key is listening to what the customers are saying and learning if they’re experiencing any difficulties. These latest innovations we’ve launched are all designed to provide maximum production for recyclers and processors.”

Tool Steel Inserts

Rotogran has offered inserts for wear resistance for its granulators for years — regular mild steel inserts coated with tungsten carbide. However, because tungsten carbide is so brittle, it tends to break off easily due to the impact with hard plastic. In order to improve abrasive wear, Rotogran changed all of its inserts to tool steel, which does not chip while also extending the usable life of the inserts.

The company’s engineers designed a system where the wear areas of the granulator chamber are fitted with removable inserts. These updates to tool steel inserts target abrasive materials which are extremely dirty or glass-filled plastics. The inserts can be replaced without disassembling the entire granulator chamber, and the operation can be performed in less time than a typical blade change.

“Companies are recycling a wider assortment of products, including the dirty stuff that others won’t take, thus requiring higher productivity and improved wear resistance,” Cyr says. “We designed the removable inserts within the granulators so that when they wear down from use, they can be replaced with a new insert, making the total changeover easy and economical.”

Pathway Deflector

For customers working with a granulator and a shredder, Rotogran has introduced a pathway deflector into the cutting chamber. This deflects the partially cut material back directly into the cutting circle for cutting again. This is offered as a bolt-in optional upgrade to help increase throughput and is usually used in conjunction with a shredder.

“It greatly improves throughput, and recyclers love it,” Cyr says.

All the parts for Rotogran granulators are stocked and/or manufactured on-site at its headquarters in Bolton, Ontario.

“We’re not importing offshore components and simply assembling in Ontario and then calling it ‘North American built.’ We construct it all at our facility here in Bolton,” Cyr says. “Our door is always open and people can come and see for themselves.”