1. Perfect In One Pass /
2. Infeed

Infeed Systems

Each of our horizontal grinders features an aggressive infeed that allows efficient processing of vastly different raw materials—whole trees, round corn stover bales, yard waste, bark, green slab wood, palm fronds, wood chips, tomato vines, food waste, and many other feedstocks.

Steel Slat Conveyor Belt

A steel slat infeed conveyor provides smooth feed rates for a wide range of raw materials—forestry slash, round bales, slab wood, corn cobs, wood chips, and even wet, dense bark.  With this conveyor design, flat steel slats are hinged together to form a continuous, smooth surface, which efficiently carries raw material to the grinding chamber.

Cleaner Operation, Lower Wear

Because loose materials rest on top of the belt slats, this conveyor design provides cleaner operation with less wear than drag chain conveyors.  In comparison, drag chain type conveyors allow small particles to fall between gaps in the chains, and this loose material falls to the ground or is carried back to the front of the conveyor.  Abrasive fines between the conveyor bed and drag chains can significantly accelerate wear.  The smooth belt surface in our slat conveyors protects drive and idle pulleys from wear.  The conveyor belt rides on a bed of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), which offers wear resistance up to 15 times greater than steel.

Aggressive Powerfeed Drum

Each Rotochopper horizontal grinder features an aggressive powerfeed drum to ensure continuous feeding and optimal efficiency. Deep serrated plates mounted to the drum effectively control feed rates for solid feedstocks like logs and pallets, as well as lighter materials like yard waste and corn straw. Powerfeed and infeed speed can be adjusted independently.

Infeed Transition System

Our unique infeed transition system maximizes the advantages of the steel slat conveyor, allowing feed material to flow smoothly from the infeed conveyor to the grinding chamber.  Just before the grinding chamber, a floating scraper plate rests on top of the conveyor belt, forcing raw material into the rotor for proper grinding. 

This smooth transition prevents small particles from bypassing the grinding process, ensuring better particle size control and a cleaner work site. In a grinder that lacks a smooth transition method, loose particles can fall directly onto the collection conveyor, compromising finished product control.  Best of all, our transition system accomplishes this smooth process without any augers or other power-driven parts, making it the simplest, most reliable transition method available.

Slab Ramp

The patented slab ramp offers a simple, yet remarkably effective, method for controlling feed rates with pliable feedstocks like slab wood, palm fronds, miscanthus, and other materials that can plug other grinders instantly.

Slab Ramp Down	Slab Ramp Up

In the "DOWN" position, the slab ramp provides an aggressive feeding angle for logs, pallets, sorted C & D, and other solid feedstocks, as well as wood chips and coarsely ground wood. In the "UP" position, the slab ramp offers unmatched feed rate control for green slab wood, wet bark, tomato vines, and other pliable materials.

The slab ramp can be adjusted in less than 5 minutes. This simple adjustment can mean the difference between downtime and steady, efficient production.