Shredder motor overcomes blockages

Menzel Elektromotoren designs and manufactures motors for a variety of high-performance shredding applications, ranging from the wood industry to the recycling sector.

The manufacturer builds both squirrel-cage and slip-ring motors for these demanding applications—which involve intense, irregular vibrations and shock loads—performs load testing, and offers maintenance services. Menzel recently replaced a slip-ring motor that had failed due to overload. A shredder originally designed for mixed scrap was being used to shred entire car bodies. This caused severe vibrations to be transmitted to the motor, disrupting the contact between the carbon brushes and slip rings; the result was sparking, brush arcing, and serious damage to the slip rings.

Menzel, a medium-sized company based northwest of Berlin with extensive stock, had a suitable motor on hand and quickly configured it for the specific application. Slip-ring motors are particularly well-suited for shredding applications because they can deliver full starting torque from a standstill. Consequently, the system does not necessarily need to be cleared out before startup or after a blockage occurs; in many cases, the motor is capable of starting the shredder even when it is fully loaded.