Automatic Scrap Yard

The Automatic Scrap Yard is a comprehensive set of automation solutions designed to connect, enhance intelligence, and increase profitability in scrap yards. As the steel industry faces significant challenges, including the increase in Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) steel production, the rising demand for recycled materials to reduce CO₂ emissions, and the scarcity and high cost of quality scrap, the Automatic Scrap Yard addresses these issues directly. This holistic solution spans from sensors and sensor systems, process control systems (Level 1), and process optimization systems (Level 2), ensuring that steel producers can efficiently manage their scrap resources.

The Automatic Scrap Yard offers a modular architecture that integrates a full scrap yard management system, including material balance and tracking, visualization of scrap orders, and tracking of loaded scrap buckets. It interfaces seamlessly with process control and smart sensors, as well as delivery management and scrap crane automation. This system optimizes and verifies charging material flow, classifies scrap types, and identifies unwanted and hazardous substances. With automation-guided delivery management and scrap cleaning, it ensures quality-controlled shredder scrap production through an online analysis system. Additionally, it features 3D measurement of volume and profiles in the yard, autonomous scrap transport, and automation-supported loading and unloading at the scrap yard.

Benefits of the Automatic Scrap Yard

• Ensure and verify supply capacity: Maintain a reliable supply chain by ensuring the capacity and quality of scrap materials.
• Enhance scrap quality: improve the quality of scrap, leading to better end-product quality and reduced impurities.
• Cost-effective scrap mix: Provide the most suitable and cost-effective scrap mix to optimize production costs.
• Quality-controlled scrap tracking: enable precise tracking of scrap quality, ensuring compliance with production standards.
• Maintain tapping analysis: keep the tapping analysis within permissible limits to ensure consistent production quality.
• Increase yield: Boost production yield by optimizing scrap usage and reducing waste.
• Reduce energy consumption: Lower energy consumption and CO₂ emissions contribute to more sustainable steel production.

The Automatic Scrap Yard consists of one or more of the following products

• Scrap Analyzer*: online analysis system to produce quality-controlled shredder scrap
• Scrap Bucket/Chute Position Monitor: equipment tracking system
• Scrap Composition Monitor: identification of unwanted and hazardous substances
• Scrap Delivery Supervisor: automation-guided delivery management
• Scrap Loading Controller + Tracker: automation-supported loading of scrap baskets and chutes
• Scrap Mover: autonomous scrap transport (battery powered)
• Scrap Processing*: cleaning heavy melting scrap from all fine fractions and exposed non-ferrous metals
• Scrap Profile Monitor: 3D measurement of volume and profiles in the yard
• Scrap Type Monitor: Classify scrap types
• Scrap Yard Supervisor: fully automated scrap yard management and support system

*The Scrap Analyzer and Scrap Processing are offered in cooperation with SICON.