Why Copper Recovery Rate Decides Your Payback
For cable recyclers across Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines, the business case for a copper wire shredding line comes down to one number: clean metal yield. Every percentage point of copper left trapped in insulation, or every point of plastic contaminating the granule, reduces the value of your output at the smelter.
Tiangong Technology Co., Ltd., founded in 2008, builds integrated cable and wire recycling equipment at its 12,000 m² facility. Our TG-CableLine 100 Cable and Wire Recycling Line combines a twin-shaft shredder, granulator, air separation and vibration table to separate copper or aluminum conductor from plastic and rubber insulation, producing clean metal granules for smelting.
Step 1: Pre-Processing and Shredding
Scrap cable arrives in many forms: building wire, automotive harness, communication cable, or mixed industrial cable. The twin-shaft shredder reduces mixed cable to a manageable flake size so the granulator can work efficiently. Consistent feed size is the first determinant of clean separation downstream.
Step 2: Granulation
The granulator liberates conductor from insulation by cutting the flake into smaller particles. The target is full liberation: each copper particle free of plastic. Under-granulating leaves copper still attached to insulation; over-granulating creates fines that are harder to separate and can lose metal to dust collection.
Step 3: Air Separation and Vibration Table
After granulation, air separation blows off light plastic and rubber, while the vibration table separates remaining mixed particles by density. Copper granules, being denser, report to the metal outlet; plastic reports to the light fraction. Tuning air flow and table settings to your specific cable mix is where recovery rate is won or lost.
Practical Ways to Maximize Recovery
- Sort input cable by type before shredding where possible; mixed harness with connectors behaves differently from clean building wire
- Keep feed rate steady; surges push unliberated particles through before the granulator finishes its work
- Monitor the light fraction regularly; visible copper in the plastic stream means air flow or screen settings need adjustment
- Maintain granulator knives on schedule; dull knives smear insulation onto copper instead of cutting it clean
Beyond Cable: Related Recovery Lines
Buyers handling broader metal streams often pair cable recycling with other equipment. Our TG-EWasteLine 150 E-Waste Metal Recovery Line adds magnetic separation, eddy current separation and air classification for discarded electronics, and the TG-AluLine 200 Aluminum Scrap Recycling Processing Line turns aluminum swarf and offcuts into dense furnace-ready briquettes.
Support and Delivery
Standard models ship with lead times under 45 days. Every machine includes a spare-parts kit, installation supervision, operator training and a 12-month warranty. Equipment is CE-marked, with UL-compliant panels available on request.
Next Step
Tell us your monthly cable volume and cable types. We will configure a copper wire shredding and granulation line matched to your feed and target purity.