Machine makes cars compact

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(Unpublished) Hydraulics & Pneumatics

Alan Hitchcox
Mon, 2014-05-05 15:12

The smaller you make a car, the more of them you can fit onto a trailer for transport. And crushing cars is what
Al-Jon Manufacturings Impact V is all about thanks to hydraulics.
The cars we drive are mostly air, and scrap dealers are paid by the pound, not by volume. So squeezing the air
out of cars means they can fit more of them onto a trailer. Cramming more cars onto a trailer reduces
transportation charges, adding to the dealers profits.
Squeezing the air out of a car, or course, means crushing it. Car crushers come in a variety of configurations.
Some crush cars in sections to make ultra-dense bales. But crushing a car in several bites takes time. Other
machines crush cars from several directions to produce dense logs. And even though they may not turn out
cars as dense and compact as other crushers, platform crushers work quickly, and can even crush more than one
car at a time.

One such platform crusher is the Impact V, from Al-Jon Mfg. LLC, Ottumwa, Iowa. Al-Jon is a family owned
and operated manufacturer founded more than 50 years ago. In addition to car crushers, which the company
first introduced in 1964, Al-Jon also designs and builds landfill compactors and balers all of which rely
heavily on hydraulics. The Impact V comes mounted to a standard semi trailer, enabling it to be easily
transported to different locations or moved around a scrap yard. It can be operated by a single person either
manually or by radio remote control. The machines crushing chamber is 20-ft long, 84-in. wide, and 90-in.
high with the lid fully raised. When fully lowered, the lid moves to within 9-in. of the lower bed.
A closer look

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Machine makes cars compact

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The Impact V is essentially a four-post hydraulic press. The crushing lid (upper platen) is controlled by two 8-in.
bore, 81-in. stroke hydraulic cylinders with 5-in. diameter piston rods. Self-aligning ball bushings are provided
at both the rod and cap end of both cylinders. Al-Jon officials call this four-post arrangement their Quad Post
System.

The key to the Quad Post System is the equal distribution of the crushing force to the four corners of the
crushing lid, explained Norman Wellings, engineering manager. The crushing lid is connected to the four
sliding guides by heavy-duty pivot lugs mounted on each corner. The stress is distributed equally across the
guide posts, sliding guides, and pivot lugs, giving the Impact V greater stability and durability.
Wellings pointed out that another advantage of the Impact V is quick setup, which he attributes to Al-Jons
Cylinder Locking System. An operator raises the cylinder cases, locks them into position with a simple keyway
design, and the machine is ready to work. Wellings continued: This unique design has reduced total set-up
time to less than one minute and also gives the cylinders on the Impact V more power by pushing down to crush
the material. By pushing down, Wellings refers to the fact that crushing force is applied during cylinder
extension, which uses the full area of the cylinders pistons. Some designs of machines crush on the cylinders
return stroke, so hydraulic pressure is only applied to the annular area of the piston not the full area.
Furthermore, 5-in. piston rods within the 8-in. bore cylinders reduce the fluid volume needed to retract the
cylinders, which reduces cycle times.

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Packaged power
The Impact V is driven by either a John Deere or Cummins diesel engine rated 100 hp at 2,500 rpm. The engine
powers a pair of tandem-mounted gear pumps that generate combined flow of 78 gpm at pressure to 3,000 psi.
The hydraulic power unit has a reservoir capacity of 120 gal with 100% fluid filtration to 10 m.
Hydraulic directional valves are solenoid controlled with pilot pressure assist. Main relief pressure is factory set

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at 3,000 psi with work port relief pressure set at 3,250 psi.
Source URL: http://hydraulicspneumatics.com/cylinders-actuators/machine-makes-cars-compact

5/5/2014 3:14 PM