Product Design
Explore the R-Mag features and see what makes it the best industrial grinder / shredders on the planet.
Explore the R-Mag features and see what makes it the best industrial grinder / shredders on the planet.
The cutting action in the R-Mag does not force the material against the screens and it does not force it against an anvil, therefore, there are no pinch pints in the system. The knives strike the material and the cutting back up force is provided by the material itself. There is no Self Destructive tendency. All tub grinders, horizontal fed grinders and hammer mills have pinch points between their hammers and their anvils and/or screens. Self destruction is constant.
If you examine any of our R-Mag models you will see that the design and construction is such that they are nearly indestructible. We feel that our concept backed up by strong design and construction and 100% replaceability of all wear parts gives you a machine that you can operate indefinitely if you wish. By comparison most of the tub grinders and horizontal feed machines on the market become worn or damaged beyond repair within a year or two. URC Machines just keep on running! Really
Because there are no pinch points in the system, the cutter disc almost always can be started up even when the pan is full of material. Rotor jam-ups just don't happen. Tub grinders advertise that their tubs flip open to clear jam-ups. This is not needed in a R-Mag nor is time wasted digging out such situations.
The R-Mag models now employ a Fluid Coupling in the drive system. This allows the engine to transmit full torque to the cutter disc at full engine power without concern over burning up a clutch. This gives the cutter disc the ability to nearly always start under full load.
The cutter disc and cutter blades of a R-Mag travel at less than half the speed of the hammer tips in a tub grinder horizontal feed machine. The damage and wear that contaminates can do to a cutting tip is proportional to the square of the tip speed. Therefore, a cutter traveling at half the speed experiences only a quarter the wear and tear.
If you consider that only 20% of the contaminates fed to a R-Mag ever contacts the cutter blades and that contact only results in one quarter the wear and tear, the result is only 5% the relative war and tear by comparison.
At Universal Refiner we believe that one of the most important factors in a design is simplicity. By following this "simple" rule we are able to produce larger, stronger and better machines yet sell them at lower prices than the competition. This "simple" rule makes our machines less expensive and easier to operate and maintain as well.
The cutter blades, blade holders (hammers) and many other key components are interchangeable on all of our models. This simplicity and commonality allows us to keep larger inventories of all key parts, this is important for good customer service.
From the time a fresh load of material is fed until it encounters the cutter disc it is constantly agitated, breaking loose dirt, mud, sand and rock that can exit the machine without contacting the cutter disc.
First the violent action of the Shark's Fin shakes the material, then the shock waves generated by the cutting action vibrates the material violently. Finally the shoe, scrub star, drop area and star wheel agitate and assist the contaminates out through the screens. Only about 20% of the contaminates ever contact the cutter blades. The result is 80% less wear and tear on the cutter blades and holders (hammers).
All tub grinders and horizontal feed machines feed 100% of the contaminates to the cutting mechanism, then they force it between the hammers and screens violently until it is finally forced through the screen holes. High wear is inevitable and screen blow outs are common.
The key to the efficiency and performance of the R-Mag is the "high tensile" cutter blades. The blades are low in frontal area so they slice through the material utilizing much lower horsepower. Our 600HP model out performs other grinders having up to 1000HP.
The cutter blades are very, very strong so they can withstand most contaminates and tramp metal without breaking, however, if very heavy metal or large boulders are encountered they are intended to break to protect other more expensive parts. We have examples when our cutter blades have penetrated several inches into solid steel plate 1/2" thick before breaking.
We offer several different blade designs ranging from short strong blades for maximum production in moderately tough materials to specialty blades for making fine mulch and fiber product such as pulp chips. The blades are few in number and priced so blade replacement cost is much lower than tip replacement cost for other grinders. The cutter blades are very simple and easy to replace and can be changed in a matter of minutes.
The pan surrounds and encloses the lower portion of the cutting chamber, it includes the screens, the wall and the infeed enhancer (shark's fin) and turns in a clock wise direction. The pan is constructed of very heavy steel plate and is powered by hydraulic motors utilizing heavy drive tires.
The pan and drive system are designed to withstand the shock and abuse of grinding heavy materials year after year after year with the only significant maintenance being the occasional replacement of the tires. The bearing that supports the pan is made of Teflon wear pads running on a polished hardened steel plate. They last a very long time and are easily replaced.
Everything that is subject to wear is replaceable, there is no reason for these machines to ever wear out! Compare this to the thin construction and chain drives on the other grinders on the market.
Bolted around the rim of the cutter disc are the bladeholders that completely surround the rim of the disc protecting it from any wear or abuse. The bladeholders are made of very strong alloy and covered with carbide hard facing. The bladeholders are constructed such that the contact areas that hold the blades are all internal and protected form wear or abuse. If the bladeholders are hardfaced from time to time they can be made to last the life of the machine, or if allowed to wear away, they can be replaced at about the cost of a typical set of hammers.
Our special bladeholder and screen warranty covers the original bladeholders against breakage for one year. No other grinder can match this warranty. Normal hardfacing on all the bladeholders takes about two(2) hours per week.
Screens vary in size from 2" for making fine mulch or fiber products to 9" screens for high production. The screens are very easy to replace. An entire set can be changed out in 20 minutes by one workman. The screens are not involved in the grinding process and do not wear out in the normal life of the machine. They are also covered against breakage by our one (1) year hammer and screen warranty. No one can match this.
As the un-cut material rides over the CST plate to the back side it drops onto the screens in time to encounter the cutter disc for the cutting. This drop area amounts to further agitation of the material allowing more cut material and contaminates to fall out through the screens.
Another free turning star wheel follows the drop area causing even further agitation of the material before it is again fed to the cutter disc.
The alloy arbor shaft is very large and strong and turns the heavy-duty Timken bearing which is mounted in a self-contained cartridge. The arbor and bearing almost never fail, but if it should, the entire cartridge/arbor unit can be changed out in a matter of a few hours.
The heart of the R-Mag is a very heavy alloy disc that is mounted on the arbor with a knock-off hub so it can be easily removed for service if needed. The disc turns in a counter clock-wise direction at a moderate speed.
At the tip of the CST plate is a plow shaped shoe that operates just behind the cutter disc. When the material passes by the cutter disc some of the ground material packs around the lower outside corner of the pan. In dirty material mud and contaminates tend to collect here. The shoe plows this material inward over the screens for rapid discharge. The shoe is a very low maintenance item and easily replaced.
The infeed hoppers of the R-Mag models are very large, so large, long limbs can be fed without bridging. However, we also provide an infeed enhancer that turns with the pan and extends upward into the hopper. This "shark's fin" disrupts, cuts and/or breaks any material that may tend to bridge. Long brush and limbs are cut and pulled into the cutting area very aggressively. No other grinder has such an aggressive infeed system.
Bolted to the stationary portion of the refiner floor is the heavy crescent shaped CST plate. The plate is spaced up a few inches above the screens so it holds un-cut material above it. This allows the spray of cut material from the cutter disc to flow out under it, onto the screen area for rapid discharge.
Mounted directly over the screens and operating behind the shoe and cutter disc spray area is a free turning steel star. This "scrub star" agitates the material that the shoe and the cutter disc spray have deposited on the screens. This scrubbing action improves efficiency of the discharge and prevents the screens from blinding over. The scrub star is also a very low maintenance and easily replaced item.