r/machining • u/GreenridgeMetalWorks • 9d ago

Picture Well, it wasn't all machining, but there was a lot of machining. And it's finally over...lordy this one took it out of me.

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74 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

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8

u/Anen-o-me 9d ago

What are we looking at

9

u/GreenridgeMetalWorks 9d ago

A metering screw. The open side goes up against a huge bin with hydraulic pushers that push the chip forward into this metering screw trough. The wood chip falls into that section with the screw. The screw pushes the wood chip through to the other side, and it falls through a hole in the floor of the screw trough, onto the next screw, and it eventually makes its way to be burned. This metering screw is for the scrap wood they don't use, it gets burned and used to heat their press.

This goes to a mill that makes OSB (basically chip board).

5

u/howtohandlearope 9d ago

That's a heck of a piece of equipment. Reminds me of some rubber shredders i made for a tire recycler a few years back. 

3

u/GreenridgeMetalWorks 9d ago

It was an absolute nightmare to organize and make happen if I'm honest. Our shop has only taken a handful of big jobs like this, and every time we do it, when we are done, I'm like "holy shit, was that even worth it" lol. It's a lot of stress.

And the stress won't be over for me till it's installed and everything works as intended for a month or so.

1

u/howtohandlearope 9d ago

I totally get that. Usually it's just parts, then occasionally we'll get in a big assembly or have to engineer a whole ass thing and it's awful. Especially if my old boss was the one to engineer it. Ugh. But looking back, they were all pretty neat projects. Probably lost money on every one too.

1

u/GreenridgeMetalWorks 9d ago

We aren't losing any money, but every big job has been a massive amount of work figuring out what the dimensions need to be, how everything needs to fit together with the already existing structure/machine, logistics of getting all the different parts of the job done simultaneously in my tiny ass shop, lol.

Could not do it without my co-owner. He's much better at that part of the job than me. Don't get me wrong, our jobs overlap, but I'm better at making the work actually happen and keeping the shop running, he's much better at planning and making sure I know what needs to be done.

1

u/ordosays 9d ago

Genuinely surprised this is mild steel. Is it getting powder coated? Even then, still surprised for wood chips.

1

u/GreenridgeMetalWorks 9d ago edited 9d ago

All the major wear surfaces are plated with, or made of, AR400 (the flighting on the screw) or AR500 (the trough)

No powder coat, but the outside is getting plain old ford blue paint when we are done lol. Inside doesn't get any paint at all, can't contaminate the chips.

1

u/burninatah 9d ago

You could make the world's biggest traeger grill 

1

u/GreenridgeMetalWorks 9d ago

Indeed! Give me 170k and I'll make you one right now...

2

u/FedUp233 9d ago

If I up it to 200k can you make it over the weekend and overnight it to me? 😁😁

1

u/GreenridgeMetalWorks 9d ago

Make it 200k and enough for lunch tommorow and you got a deal.

2

u/FedUp233 9d ago

Sorry. Too much! You just blew the deal!