VK 12018 60.4+60.4 HP Channel Baling Press

The HSM VK 12018 with twin 60.4 HP motors is the entry drive on HSM's largest channel press, and it is the configuration most sites choose when the bale format matters more than raw speed. It presses at 1,200 kN, ties five wires and turns out an 1,100 x 1,100 mm bale of up to 1,100 kg — the same output as the two faster variants — at a published idle throughput of 506 cubic metres an hour.

This is materials recovery equipment. The 970 x 1,800 mm aperture is fed from a wide belt, the ram cycles automatically every 15.5 seconds at idle, and finished bales leave the end of a 12.4 metre channel already tied. HSM rates it at 25.3 tonnes an hour on material with a bulk density of 50 kg/m³.

Where the VK 12018 differs from every smaller press in the range is bale length: you can run bales up to 2,000 mm, against 1,200 mm on the VK 5012 and below. On long bales the wire cost per tonne drops and trailers load better.

Key Features

• 1,200 kN at 99.2 N/cm² into an 1,100 x 1,100 mm chamber — the largest bale HSM makes in this class.
• Five-wire automatic tying, which is what it takes to hold a 1,100 kg bale of springy material together.
• 970 x 1,800 mm feed aperture. At 1.8 metres long it takes bulk material straight off a wide belt.
• Gimballed press cylinder that lets the ram find the chamber instead of loading the rod sideways, which is the single biggest wear factor on a press this size.
• Siemens programmable controller with touch panel, so material recipes and fault diagnosis live on one screen.
• Castle-lock safety system on access points.
• Bale length adjustable to 2,000 mm, double what HSM's smaller channel presses offer.
• Optional wear-resistant steel for residual waste, and an optional frequency-regulated drive that HSM says reduces energy consumption by around 40%.
• Fully automatic operation. Material goes in the aperture, the ram cycles on a light barrier, the bale is tied and ejected without an operator at the machine.
• Wire tying as standard, so bales hold their shape under the springback of film and OCC.
• Continuous feeding from a conveyor belt, an air feed or a shredder discharge — this is a machine designed to sit at the end of a line, not to be hand-loaded.

Specifications

What's in the Box

A VK 12018 is a plant installation. HSM publishes no scope-of-delivery list, and the press arrives to be rigged, positioned, levelled, connected to a three-phase supply and commissioned by an HSM engineer. Feed conveyors, sorting cabins, platforms, guarding, dust extraction and bale handling are separate items designed around your building.

Baling wire is not included. The machine applies five wire ties per bale automatically; the wire specification for your press is confirmed at commissioning. On a machine producing tonne bales continuously, wire is a significant consumable line.

Who Should Buy This — and Who Should Not

Buy the 60.4+60.4 HP VK 12018 if you need tonne bales and a 1,800 mm aperture but your plant runs one shift, or your sorting line feeds the baler at a rate a 15.5 second cycle comfortably absorbs. You get the full bale format, the full 1,200 kN and the full five-wire tie for the lowest connected load in the range — 90 kW rather than 150 kW.

Buy the 73.8+73.8 HP version instead if the belt is faster than the press. It cuts the idle cycle from 15.5 s to 11.3 s and lifts throughput from 506 to 692 m³/h, in the same frame and at the same 38,000 kg.

Buy the 100.6+100.6 HP version instead if you are running two or three shifts on high-volume single-stream material. It cycles in 9.4 seconds at 837 m³/h.

Do not buy any VK 12018 if your recycler is happy with a 1,100 x 750 mm bale. The VK 5012 makes that bale in a machine 3.4 metres shorter and less than half the weight, and the difference in installation cost is not small. The 12018 earns its keep on tonnage, not on prestige.