Material Testing: Screening ASR Scrap

A new opportunity for innovation

ASR scrap can be a particularly difficult material to screen and separate due to tangled wiring and easily knotted materials. When planning an ASR sorting system for enhanced separation, a current GK customer had an idea of how they would like to improve their system. However, the customer was uncertain that they would achieve the results they needed to justify their investment. Aware of GK’s innovative practices and willingness to work with customers on new technology, they decided that GK would be the ideal partner.

Material testing

Innovation begins in the lab. The Customer and GK reviewed the process goals and expectations of a potential system. Both agreed material testing was needed to verify the system would meet the customer’s requirements. The R&D knew the test needed to be conducted using our patented FINGER-SCREEN™ technology. To shorten the timeline, GK worked to set the unit as the customer shipped the material to our lab.  Once the material arrived, however, it had settled too much in transit and the results of lab testing would not accurately represent real-world results. General Kinematics would have to re-think how to get accurate test results. 

Accurate results

After weighing the options, GK decided that the best way to reach an accurate conclusion was to ship the FINGER-SCREEN™ to the customer. The customer’s processing line consisted of various units from their other systems. The FINGER-SCREEN™ would be included as the primary sorting screen for the challenging materials. In addition to the screen, General Kinematics provided a representative from R&D and two mechanical engineers to assist in testing the material. 

Finding Confidence 

By the end of testing, the customer and GK were confident that they could achieve the process objectives with this piece of equipment. Having the ability to field test provided proof that their equipment and process investment would pay off when expanding their system. Without this key step in the process, the customer’s decision-making team would not have been able to move the project forward. 

We understand that during this time it is harder than ever to make those big buying decisions without knowing how your business will be affected. General Kinematics is here to help make these decisions less stressful with our painless material testing options. Sending in your material is easy. Follow these simple steps and we do the rest!