We often receive questions about the effectiveness of zig zag separators, particularly whether they are worth investing in. The answer really depends on your specific application. For instance, if you are aiming to roughly sort a shredded stream to separate lighter materials from heavier ones—like aluminum from copper in aluminum-copper radiators—then a zig zag separator is great. It allows aluminum flakes to rise while heavier copper parts descend, providing a cleaner separation. This setup ensures that subsequent processing steps, such as further shredding or granulation, yield cleaner and more distinct material fractions.
However, zig zag separators are not suitable for every application. For example, they are not effective for lithium-ion batteries due to the lightweight nature of the flakes and powders, which tend to mix rather than separate cleanly. Similarly, materials with long, thin strands like THHN might not separate effectively in a zig zag separator, necessitating additional milling and separation processes.
One of the primary uses of these separators is as a precursory sort before more detailed separation processes, such as feeding clean copper into a turbo mill while directing lighter copper pieces and plastics upwards for further liberation. They excel in scenarios where there is a significant difference in weight between materials being processed, like downstream for cars.
Maintenance-wise, zig zag separators are advantageous because they require minimal upkeep compared to traditional screening equipment. We design ours with steep walls for quick material descent without accumulation, ensuring optimal flow and throughput.
Zig zag separators are valuable tools for specific sorting tasks where large weight disparity between materials allows for effective separation. For even more detailed inquiries on specific applications, please reach out to us.
