Compactor
Encyclopedia
Machine
A machine manages power to accomplish a task, examples include, a mechanical system, a computing system, an electronic system, and a molecular machine. In common usage, the meaning is that of a device having parts that perform or assist in performing any type of work...
or mechanism used to reduce the size of waste
Waste
Waste is unwanted or useless materials. In biology, waste is any of the many unwanted substances or toxins that are expelled from living organisms, metabolic waste; such as urea, sweat or feces. Litter is waste which has been disposed of improperly...
material or soil through compaction
Soil compaction
In Geotechnical engineering, soil compaction is the process in which a stress applied to a soil causes densification as air is displaced from the pores between the soil grains. When stress is applied that causes densification due to water being displaced from between the soil grains then...
. A trash compactor is often used by homes and businesses to reduce the volume of trash.
Normally powered by hydraulics
Hydraulic machinery
Hydraulic machines are machinery and tools that use liquid fluid power to do simple work. Heavy equipment is a common example.In this type of machine, hydraulic fluid is transmitted throughout the machine to various hydraulic motors and hydraulic cylinders and which becomes pressurised according to...
, compactors take many shapes and sizes. In landfill
Landfill
A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...
sites for example, a large bulldozer
Bulldozer
A bulldozer is a crawler equipped with a substantial metal plate used to push large quantities of soil, sand, rubble, etc., during construction work and typically equipped at the rear with a claw-like device to loosen densely-compacted materials.Bulldozers can be found on a wide range of sites,...
with spiked wheels called a landfill compactor
Waste compaction
Waste compaction is the process of compacting waste. Compaction means to compress, condense or consolidate. It is often used to reduce the size of waste material. Garbage compactors and waste collection vehicles compress waste so that more of it can be stored in the same space...
is used to drive over waste deposited by waste collection vehicle
Waste collection vehicle
Garbage truck refers to a truck specially designed to collect small quantities of waste and haul the collected waste to a solid waste treatment facility. Other common names for this type of truck include trash truck and dump truck in the United States, and bin wagon, dustcart, dustbin lorry, bin...
s (WCVs).
WCVs themselves incorporate a compacting mechanism which is used to increase the payload
Cargo
Cargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...
of the vehicle and reduce the number of times it has to empty. This usually takes the form of hydraulically-
Hydraulic machinery
Hydraulic machines are machinery and tools that use liquid fluid power to do simple work. Heavy equipment is a common example.In this type of machine, hydraulic fluid is transmitted throughout the machine to various hydraulic motors and hydraulic cylinders and which becomes pressurised according to...
powered sliding plates which sweep out the collection hopper and compress the material into what has already been loaded.
Different compactors are used in scrap metal
Scrap Metal
Scrap Metal were a band from Broome, Western Australia who played rock music with elements of country and reggae. The members had Aboriginal, Irish, Filipino, French, Chinese, Scottish, Indonesian and Japanese heritage. The band toured nationally as part of the Bran Nue Dae musical and with...
processing, the most familiar being the car crusher
Car crusher
A car crusher is an industrial device used to reduce the dimensions of derelict cars prior to transport for recycling.Car crushers are compactors and can be of two types: "pancake", where a scrap automobile is flattened by a huge descending hydraulically-powered plate, or the baling press type,...
. Such devices can either be of the "pancake" type, where a scrap automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
is flattened by a huge descending hydraulically-powered plate. The other type is the baling press, where the automobile is compressed from several directions until it resembles a large cube.
Commercial use
Many retail and service businesses, such as fast food, restaurants, and hotels, use compactors to reduce the volume of non-recyclable waste as well as curb nuisance such as rodents and smell. In the hospitality industry tolerance for such nuisances is particularly low. These compactors typically come in electric and hydraulic operation, with quite a few loading configurations. Most popular loading configurations fall under the following:- Ground-Access;
- Walk-On;
- Secured Indoor Chute.
These compactors are almost exclusively of welded steel construction for two reasons: durability under pressure and exposure to the elements, as compactors are installed either completely outdoors or sometimes under a covered loading dock.
Residential use
There are also trash compactors, hydraulic or manual, designed for residential use. Likewise, they reduce the volume of garbageWaste
Waste is unwanted or useless materials. In biology, waste is any of the many unwanted substances or toxins that are expelled from living organisms, metabolic waste; such as urea, sweat or feces. Litter is waste which has been disposed of improperly...
. For example, some compactors reduce the volume of polystyrene
Polystyrene
Polystyrene ) also known as Thermocole, abbreviated following ISO Standard PS, is an aromatic polymer made from the monomer styrene, a liquid hydrocarbon that is manufactured from petroleum by the chemical industry...
to 1/30.
Municipal use
In addition to the waste vehicle and landfill use, there are solar-powered trash compactors that can hold the equivalent of 200 gallons of trash before they need to be emptied. The primary manufacturer of these devices is BigBellyBigBelly
BigBelly is a solar powered, rubbish-compacting bin, manufactured by U.S. company BigBelly Solar for use in public spaces such as parks, beaches, amusement parks, and universities. The bin was designed and originally manufactured in Needham, Massachusetts by Seahorse Power, a company set up in 2003...
Solar
Construction industry
In constructionConstruction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
, there are three main types of compactor: the plate compactor, the "Jumping Jack" and the road roller
Road roller
A road roller is a compactor type engineering vehicle used to compact soil, gravel, concrete, or asphalt in the construction of roads and foundations, similar rollers are used also at landfills or in agriculture.In some parts of the world, road rollers are still known colloquially as steam...
. The roller type compactors are used for compacting crushed
Crusher
A crusher is a machine designed to reduce large rocks into smaller rocks, gravel, or rock dust. Crushers may be used to reduce the size, or change the form, of waste materials so they can be more easily disposed of or recycled, or to reduce the size of a solid mix of raw materials , so that pieces...
rock as the base layer underneath concrete or stone foundations or slabs. The plate compactor has a large vibrating
Vibrator (mechanical)
A vibrator is a mechanical device to generate vibrations. The vibration is often generated by an electric motor with an unbalanced mass on its driveshaft.There are many different types of vibrator...
baseplate and is suited for creating a level grade, while the jumping jack compactor has a smaller foot. The jumping jack type is mainly used to compact the backfill in narrow trench
Trench
A trench is a type of excavation or depression in the ground. Trenches are generally defined by being deeper than they are wide , and by being narrow compared to their length ....
es for water or gas supply pipes etc. Road rollers may also have vibrating rollers.
In England the name "wacker plate" or just "wacker" is commonly used to refer to plate compactors, derived from the name of Wacker Construction Equipment AG
Wacker Construction Equipment AG
Wacker Neuson SE, is a global company, that develops, produces and sells construction equipment and offers the accordant services.The company was founded in 1848 and has now more than 30 affiliates and over 180 sales and service offices....
, a well-known manufacturer of such devices. The name is pronounced in the English style as whacker as opposed to the correct German vacker. A "Jumping Jack" compactor is colloquially referred to as "Paddy
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
's Motorbike", due to the traditional resource of Irish construction labourers, and the way that the operator appears to "ride" the hammer holding the handles like a motorcycle.
Patents
- — Can crusher and baler — 1941
- — Compactor Service & Monitoring System — 2006
External links
- Preventing Injuries When Working With Ride-On Roller/Compactors, a publication from the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and HealthNational Institute for Occupational Safety and HealthThe National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is the United States’ federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related injury and illness. NIOSH is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention within the U.S...