Eriez’ PokerSort solves age-old problem

Eriez

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Officially introduced at ISRI 2012 this April, Eriez’ new PokerSort is engineered to help alleviate issues caused by long rod-like pieces, typically over 24 inches in length (commonly referred to as pokers) that can damage downstream equipment in automobile and other metal scrap operations.

“Pokers, as their name implies, often poke through conveyor belts, causing jams and bridging conditions that can shut down an entire facility,” says Brian Vrablic, Sales Engineer for Eriez. “Even a few minutes of downtime can cost thousands of dollars in saleable product.”

Utilizing a special magnetic drum positioned at the end of the shredder discharge belt, PokerSort separates pokers as they catapult off the end of the belt with a different trajectory than the rest of the shredded material or “frag.”

According to Eriez, a PokerSort test unit was installed at Erie, PA-based Liberty Iron & Metal LLC in late 2011 and on-site testing has proven the PokerSort’s remarkable performance, with 90 percent of pokers eliminated.

“Pokers in the frag stream is an age-old and extremely common problem in the recycling industry,” says Mike Shattuck, Eriez’ Heavy Industry Project Manager. “We listened to our customers, studied the situation and set out to develop a solution.”