Single blade vs. Multi Feed Wire Stripping Machines

Bluedog International / September 28th, 2019

Single blade wire stripper vs multi feed wire stripping machine
by Joe Williams

There are two common designs of mechanical scrap wire stripping machines on the market.

One style is the Single blade design machine which incorporates a single blade plus a bottom motorized V grooved feed wheel.  Single blade machines are designed for stripping the insulation on only 1 side of the wire and require manual adjustment for each different wire size.

The other style of wire stripping machine is the  Multi Feed system which incorporates multiple feed ports, stripping on top and bottom of the insulation,  has better overall support of wire reducing  slip under the cutting wheel and automatically adjusts for each wire size.

Let’s explore in more detail the pros and cons of single blade wire stripper vs multi feed wire stripping machines.

Single blade Wire Stripping Machines 

Single blade machines are the most basic form of scrap wire strippers on the market. They have one single blade which requires height adjustments for each wire size that the operator will strip.    Underneath the blade is typically a V-grooved motorized feed wheel with some type of knurled or wire gripper.

The Bluedog BWS-60 single blade wire stripper is meant for industrial scrap wire recycling applications and will easily strip wire from 1/4″ AWG up to 2500 MCM.

There are limits to single blade machines and they are not recommended for wires that are less than 1/4  inch thick in diameter!

Although thin gauge wires can be stripped using a single blade machine,  continuous operation is more difficult because smaller diameter wire tends to  slip out from under the blade.  This complicates the work for the operator since he needs to re-run wire through the machine more than once and we all know – time is money! This is a known issue for all single blade design machines.

Another limitation of single blade machines is that you need to lower and raise the blade for every different thickness of the wire. This can be an inconvenience because it may take the operator several tries in order to dial in the machine to the correct setting.

In addition, as the operator must adjust the depth of cut for each different thickness of insulation, it is easy to cut too deep and have the blade dig into the copper core. This reduces blade life expectancy.  Under normal operation, blades should only cut through the plastic insulation.  When the blade digs constantly into the copper core of the wire, blade life is reduced dramatically.

WHEN BLADES cut only the plastic insulation, the cost of blades is not a significant factor but when the operator continuously digs into the copper core the cost of blades, including the time to change a blade, blade cost does become a necessary factor to consider.

Bluedog Single Blade wire strippers are recommended for very thick cable and will strip thousands of pounds without issue when properly adjusted.  One customer claimed to have stripped over 300,000 pounds of XLPE cable with the BLUEDOG BWS 60 wire stripper as per the photo below!

The BLUEDOG BWS-60 copper wire stripper is one of the best single blade wire stripping machines on the market.

NOT ALL SINGLE BLADE WIRE STRIPPING MACHINES ARE DESIGNED EQUAL!

• The BLUEDOG single blade design is a more robust industrial design which is evident considering that the BWS-60 weighs 130 lbs compared to competing machines that weigh only  88 lb.
• The BLUEDOG BWS-60 blade depth is almost 1″ compared to competing models that only have a 1/2″ blade depth.  The BLUEDOG wire stripper allows for stripping of  cables with thicker insulation.
• The BLUEDOG BWS-60 wire stripper has a more aggressive feed wheel which will allow better grip compared to competing systems which tend to slip on thicker coatings.
• The BLUEDOG BWS-60 wire stripper comes standard with a 1 1/2 HP motor compared to competing systems which only have a 1 HP MOTOR.
• The BLUEDOG BWS-60 GEARBOX is heavy duty compared to  competing models which have smaller and less robust gearbox designs
• The BLUEDOG BWS-60 offers optional variable speed drives in cases where speed control is needed.

IN SUMMARY for the SINGLE BLADE DESIGN

Pro’s

– Great for stripping cable diameter ¼” and larger
– Great for stripping a large quantity of 1 single thickness of wire at a time
– Only 1 blade in the machine so blade changes are basic
– Good for Stripping  thick coatings such as XLPE cable.  Note: this is based on the Bluedog BWS-60 design.  Competing machines  have smaller blade depths  and as such are limited in their insulation stripping thickness capabilities
– allows for stripping heavier coated wires than a MULTI FEED SYSTEM
-Is less expensive than a MULTI FEED SYSTEM

Con’s

– Requires constant adjustment for stripping each size of wire
– Takes longer to strip multiple thicknesses of wire due to required blade height adjustments
– Thinner gauge such as 12/14/16 AWG wire slips out from under the blade.
– A single blade machine takes longer to strip wire than a multi feed machine due to the adjustment requirements.
– Greater Potenial to cut into the copper core and as such significantly reducing blade life

Continued: Single blade wire stripper vs multi feed wire stripping machines

Multi Feed Wire Stripping Machines

Multi feed machines such as the Bluedog BWS 50 multi-feed or BWS-50 SAR are some of the most versatile wire stripping machines on the market.

These machines are capable of stripping wire from 20 AWG to 2-inch diameter easily and with no adjustment.   Multi-Feed machines excel at stripping thinner gauge wire because the rollers support the wire much better compared to a single blade design machine.

For wire diameters larger than 2″,  the BWS-80-HD and BWS-100-V2  are heavy-duty industrial workhorses with abilities to strip wires from 3 1/8″ up to 4 in diameter utilizing the MULTI-FEED design.

Multi feed machines have multiple feed PORTS on the front of the machine and are designed around a spring tensioning system. The benefit of the spring tensioning system is that the blades float along the edge of the wire cutting off the insulation leaving bare bright copper.  Because the blades float there is less chance of damaging the blades by digging into the copper which will improve the blade life expectancy.

The operation of Multi Feed machines to strip wire is simpler because all that is required is to put the wire into the right sized feed hole and the machine effortlessly strips off the coating.  Most users prefer a  multi-feed system for stripping wire because there is little need to manually lower and raise blades for every individual thickness.

Multi Feed machine design  Pro’s

-Heavier more robust machine
-HIGHER production rates
-Cuts on both sides of the wire for faster removal of insulation
-Designed for electrical contractors, demolition companies, scrap yards, wire manufacturers, retail wire outlets, etc
-Spring Tensioning system to help prevent cutting into the copper core
-Forward reverse capability on many models
– Numerous feed ports.
-Multiple shafts that allow for more even stripping for wire that is not perfectly straight
– Better to strip wire gauges smaller than 1/4″

Multi Feed machine design Con’s

-more complicated blade changes
– limited to maximum coating thickness on various models
-more expensive compared to single blade machines

In conclusion

The decision as to which style of machine to choose depends on a number of factors.

• Quantity of wire that will be stripped. If you have a steady or a large quantity of wire to strip then you will want a machine that strips easily and quickly requiring few adjustments
• Type and SIZE of the wire that will be stripped. If you have a large quantity of ROMEX then you will want a machine that will strip the coatings from all the separate strands in one pass such as the BWS-80 HD.
• PURPOSE of stripping of wire. If you want to keep your labor force gainfully employed during slow periods then you need to see which machine will give the best return and easiest to operate
• COST of BLUEDOG wire stripper. Interestingly, the actual cost of the BLUEDOG wire stripper is not consequential when considering the return. Customers have noted that they were recovering close to $50,000 per month on a single machine and the best advice is to get the most versatile machine that you can.

When it comes to a single blade machine vs. a multi-feed system,  both styles have their advantages and disadvantages.  However, if you have sufficient copper wire that needs to be stripped, payback can be within several weeks in many cases even with the most expensive models.

Customers have given positive testimonials noting that they have stripped hundreds of thousands of lbs of the wire using Bluedog Wire Stripping Machines and at today’s prices the cost of the machine is very small compared to the potential return!

Be sure to check out our latest scrap copper wire strippers at www.bluedogwirestripper.com

Team Bluedog
866-901-2278

Single blade wire stripper vs multi feed wire stripping machines