Patent ID: 7028610

Claim:
A method for compacting scrap material entrained with fluid to form pellets and extracting said fluid therefrom, thereby facilitating the recycling of said pellets and separate re-use of said fluid, such scrap material as would be found in a machine shop producing scrap metal shavings entrained with cutting fluid, said shavings compacted into pellets that can be sold to a recycler and said extracted fluid reused in suitable machines found in said machine shop, the method comprising the steps of: collecting scrap material in a supply hopper; providing a plurality of augers adjacent the bottom of the supply hopper; rotating individual ones of said plurality of augers independently from other ones of said plurality of augers; shearing clumps within said scrap material being carried forward by the augers against at least one shear bar cooperating with said plurality of augers; sensing a load on each of said individual ones of said plurality of augers to determine when an individual one of said plurality of augers is jammed; controlling said rotating of said jammed individual one of said plurality of augers responsive to sensing said jammed individual one of said plurality of augers to in one mode stop and in a second mode reverse a direction of rotation to free said jammed individual one of said plurality of augers; detecting a load on said jammed individual one of said plurality of augers subsequent to said controlling step to determine whether said jammed individual one of said plurality of augers remains jammed; and continuing to operate other ones of said plurality of augers until said supply hopper is nearly or otherwise emptied responsive to detecting that said jammed individual one of said plurality of augers remains jammed.