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Briquetters

How to Choose a Metal Chip Processing System – The PRAB Framework

PRAB’s Metal Chip Processing Selection Framework is a structured decision tool for metalworking operations selecting between wringers, briquetters, crushers, and centrifuges. The framework aligns three operational variables, scrap volume, metal type, and fluid content, with the equipment configurations that consistently deliver up to 90% scrap volume reduction, up to 98% coolant recovery, and up to 25% increase in scrap resale […]

Why a Metal Briquetter Alone Is Not a Chip Processing Strategy (And What Is)

Metal chip briquetters get a lot of attention, and for good reason. Compressing loose turnings into dense, dry briquettes increases the value of metal scrap, reduces hauling costs, and recovers cutting fluid that would otherwise be lost. Any shop generating significant volumes of aluminum, steel, copper, brass, or cast iron chips should be evaluating briquetting as part of its scrap […]

What Is the Best System for Aluminum Chip Recycling?

Aluminum chip recycling is one of the most effective ways manufacturers can recover value from machining operations. For companies machining aluminum, chips and turnings are not just waste—they are a reusable asset. Yet many facilities still lose profit by hauling wet chips, storing bulky swarf, paying excessive freight, or allowing reusable coolant to leave with the scrap. The best aluminum […]

How to Maximize Aluminum Scrap Value

Stop Leaving Money on the Table – How to Maximize Aluminum Scrap Value with PRAB’s Briquetting and Conveyor Systems Most metalworking operations think about aluminum scrap the same way they’ve always thought about it — as a byproduct to manage, not an asset to optimize. In previous years, that mindset was understandable. Today, with aluminum prices up more than 46% […]

Copper at $5/lb and Rising – How to Turn Your Machining Scrap Into a Significant Revenue Stream

There’s a calculation most manufacturing operations never run. It goes like this: take the machining scrap pounds of copper, brass, or bronze chips your facility generates per week, multiply by the current scrap price ($3.40–$5.10/lb depending on grade and cleanliness), subtract the discount your scrap dealer applies for oil contamination and loose bulk, and compare that to what you’d earn […]

The Other Metal Crisis- Why Copper Prices Are Rewriting the Rules for Manufacturers

Aluminum has dominated the commodity headlines this spring — but copper prices have been quietly building a more consequential story. While aluminum’s challenge is supply: mines capped, smelters disrupted, capacity maxed — copper’s challenge is something fundamentally different. It’s demand. Demand that no amount of new mine construction can keep up with, demand from industries that didn’t even exist a […]

Aluminum Prices Are Hitting Four-Year Highs – PRAB Solutions

If you machine aluminum for a living — or manage operations that do — the market news probably isn’t a surprise at this point. Aluminum prices on the London Metal Exchange climbed to their highest levels since 2022 this spring, driven by a combination of geopolitical disruptions, structural supply constraints, and rising global demand. What that means in practical terms: […]

Modernizing the Closed-Loop Factory | Real-World Brownfield Integration in Metalworking

In real manufacturing environments, very few plants start from scratch. That’s a “Brownfield” integration vs. a “Greenfield” installation. Most facilities already operate with a mix of: Legacy conveyors Third-party shredder systems Standalone briquetting machines Decentralized CNC coolant filtration systems Older industrial oil water separators Fragmented wastewater treatment systems Capital equipment decisions were made over decades—often by different plant managers, under […]

Building the Closed-Loop Factory – Why Infrastructure Matters More Than Ever

Manufacturers continue to invest heavily in automation, machining technology, and process optimization. But as labor availability tightens and operating costs become more volatile, many plants are finding that automation alone is insufficient. This is where the “Closed-loop factory” strategy becomes important. The limiting factor is rarely the machine tool; it is the supporting infrastructure. A growing number of manufacturers are […]

The CFO’s Guide to Predictable ROI with PRAB’s ‘Test Before You Buy’ Program

Variance Is the Hidden Enemy of Capital Planning: Solved with FREE Test Before You Buy Programs For most CFOs, the greatest capital risk is not technical failure. It is variance—the gap between what the business model predicts and what the asset actually delivers once installed. In an era of higher interest rates, longer approval cycles, and tighter board oversight, that […]