Small shavings, significant impact

Swarf

Shredding metal swarf

Metal swarf is a very common by-product of machining and manufacturing processes. Whether you’re drilling and milling, grinding and turning, or cutting and shaping, it’s often inevitable that metal files, shavings and offcuts remain. But regardless of the make-up of this material stream, metal swarf remains a precious commodity, which – if processed effectively – is of significant environmental and economic value.

Speak to us about shredding swarf

What’s more, if left unshredded, operators could find themselves with mounting handling, disposal, and health and safety concerns. That’s why swarf is one of the most exciting applications in the world of industrial shredding, right now.

Our swarf shredders

Robust and resilient, the RS range has been tried and tested with the toughest metal swarf applications. These reliable, mid-range, four-shaft shredders are ideal for extreme metal shredding requirements, multi-shift continuous operation, and integration into existing plants.

Easy maintenance

Particle precision

RS Shredders

Compact

Robust

S Shredders

Small shavings, significant impact

How can UNTHA help you shred metal swarf?

Understanding your needs

We’ll ask a series of key questions to begin exploring your swarf shredding requirements. These questions will relate to your business model, the characteristics of your swarf material, and the destination of your output fraction.

Site visit and assessment

As our conversations take shape, we can provide a high-level 3D render, before visiting you on-site to ensure our solution truly meets your needs — whether we’re supplying a single swarf shredding unit, or incorporating all challenges into a robust, reliable, and cost-effective turnkey approach.

Reference visits

With a number of UNTHA swarf shredders already in operation, many new customers appreciate the opportunity to visit a reference site, to see the technology in action and speak to other operators, already benefitting from our shredding solution.

Installation and commissioning

Our seasoned engineers will install the technology, configured entirely to your needs, in the shortest possible lead time. Rigorous testing will be conducted before signing off the commissioning phase.

Handover and training

For frictionless operation, you’ll receive expert operator training from a specialist technician — complete with must-know product usability and maintenance information, plus details on recommended servicing regimes.

A cut above the rest

Backed by decades of experience handling metal swarf, our team doesn’t just understand how to tackle market challenges — we have the social proof to back it up too. Providing robust, long-lasting equipment designed for tough applications, we ensure high resilience and uptime with top-tier maintenance packages.

Shredding metal swarf

Why shred metal swarf?

Metal swarf can be diverse, bulky and unpredictable in nature, making it costly and difficult to store and handle – especially if intermingled with other debris. Shredding to detangle and size reduce the ‘waste’ stream, instantly improves the efficiency of the materials handling process.
Throughout its operational life, metalwork is often doused in oils, coolants, and lubricants that boost reliability and performance. But when it comes to any residual swarf, these contaminants affect the purity of the commodity, and hinder the downstream recycling potential. Shredders are therefore often relied upon to help liberate the material as part the metal clean-up process. The result is safe and efficient recyclate recovery, improved purity for an optimal smelting process, and maximum revenue – not to mention circular economy success.
The benefits are compounded because a swarf shredder achieves a homogenous output fraction and increased bulk density, which optimises the effectiveness, efficiency and costs of onward handling, sorting and transportation.
The resource value of metallic scrap is readily acknowledged, with many of UNTHA UK’s customers shredding copper, titanium, iron and other ferrous metals, to name just a few. But the business case for swarf shredding stacks up further still, given the ability to ensure maximum recovery rates of premium super alloys, such as Inconel 718, Nickel-Chromium-Molybdenum 626, Nickel-Based Waspalloy, and Cobalt-Nickel-Chromium-Tungsten 188.
Razor sharp edges on larger chips, as well as invasive flecks of powdery metals, are a serious health hazard — with consequences ranging from skin irritation and cuts to respiratory struggles and, in worse-case scenarios, even cancer. Removing accumulated materials from the site is therefore essential for employee safeguarding.