Logotipo del fabricante de granuladores BSGH
BSGH GRANULATOR / CABLE RECYCLING

Can A Copper Granulator Process Armored Cable?

Yes—but the armor changes the process.

Not every copper granulator can handle armored cable directly. Steel wire and steel tape armour make cutting and material separation more challenging. The right approach depends on the armor type, cable diameter, and processing volume.

Explore The Processing Options →
Cross-sections of armored cables showing conductors, insulation and metal armor
Steel armor adds a third material to the recovery process.
In This Article
01 Cable Structure
02 Processing Challenges
03 Processing Methods
Strip The Armor First
Separación magnética
04 Conclusion
Choosing A Machine?
Share your cable photos, diameter and hourly capacity.

What Makes Armored Cable Different?

Unlike ordinary cable, armored cable has an additional metal armor layer between the inner conductor layer and outer sheath. This layer provides mechanical protection against impact, crushing, and other external damage.

A Typical Armored Cable Has Five Layers

01 Copper Or Aluminum Conductors
Copper or aluminum conductors are the main recoverable metal inside the cable.
02 Insulation
PVC, XLPE, rubber, or another material surrounds and insulates the conductors.
03 Bedding / Inner Sheath
This layer protects the insulated cores and separates them from the armor.
04 Metal Armor
Wire, tape, or braid—typically made from steel or aluminum—provides mechanical protection.
05 Outer Sheath
The outer covering protects the cable from moisture, abrasion, and external damage.

Common Types Of Armored Cable

SWA
Steel wire armor, widely used in power and industrial applications.
STA
Overlapping steel tapes instead of individual steel wires.
GSWB
Braided galvanized steel wires for mechanical protection.
AWA
Aluminum wire armor, commonly used where non-magnetic armor is required.
Aluminum Tape
A protective metal layer made from aluminum tape.
Steel armor can be removed by magnetic separation once liberated. Aluminum armor is non-magnetic and requires a different separation approach.

Why Steel Armor Makes Recycling Harder

The additional steel layer places more stress on a standard copper granulation line during cutting, feeding, and separation.
01

More Blade Wear

Steel armor increases the cutting load and can accelerate blade wear, leading to more frequent sharpening or replacement and higher maintenance costs.
02

Make More Risks

Thick, heavy, rigid cables can feed unevenly. Long or large-diameter sections may reduce throughput and increase the risk of jams and motor overload.
03

More Complex Separation

Steel fragments can mix with copper and plastic. Ferrous metal must be removed at suitable points to reduce contamination in the recovered copper.

How To Process Armored Cable?

There’s different method to recycle armoured cables. Cable size, armor construction, and processing volume determine the right setup. Long or heavily armored cable usually needs preparation before the main granulator. For very thick cable, stripping may be the better first step.

Method 1: Shredding, Granulation And Separation

Step 1: Pre-Shred Long Or Heavily Armored Cable

Nuestro heavy-duty single-shaft shredder reduces bulky armored cable into shorter, more manageable pieces, making the following granulation and separation process smoother and more stable. The shredder should be matched to the cable construction.

Explore Single-Shaft Shredders →

Step 2: Process the Cable with a Matched Granulation Line

After pre-shredding, the shortened cable pieces are fed into the main granulator for further size reduction and material separation.

Compare Complete Recycling Lines →

Method 2: Strip The Armor First, Then Granulate

Best for: very thick, large-diameter armored power cables.

For oversized armored cables, especially those that are too large to feed directly into the granulation line, removing the outer sheath and steel armor first is often the more practical solution.
Heavy-duty cable stripping machines can be selected according to the cable diameter, armor structure, and insulation thickness.
After the outer armor is removed, the remaining copper-containing cable can be sent to the granulador de cobre for further size reduction and separation. This reduces the amount of hard metal entering the granulator, helps protect the blades, and makes the following recycling process easier and more stable.

Remove Steel Before Final Separation

If steel armor remains in the processed material, separación magnética can be added to the recycling line to remove ferrous metal before the copper and plastic enter the final separation stage. One or more magnetic separators can be installed at suitable points in the process to keep steel out of the downstream separation system.

Explore Magnetic Separation →
bsgh armoured magnetic separator system

Choose The Right Processing Route

Armored cable can be processed directly with the right recycling line. The main challenge is mainly the crushing stage. This is why direct armored cable processing is still relatively uncommon. BSGH has extensive experience in this application and can configure complete recycling solutions for different cable structures, diameters, and processing capacities.

Explore Armoured Cable Recycling Lines →

Planning To Recycle Your Armored Cable?

Send us photos of your armored cable and tell us its diameter and armor type. We’ll help you identify a suitable processing route.

Chat With Us On WhatsApp
es_ESSpanish
es_ESSpanish en_USEnglish pt_PTPortuguese de_DEGerman fr_FRFrench

Metal briquetting machine

Maximize your recycling efficiency with our compact and powerful metal chip briquetting machines. Whether you’re dealing with small batches or large volumes of metal scrap, we have the perfect solution to fit your space and production needs.

Contact us today for a free, customized quote and discover how our briquette press can help you boost productivity and profits.

Solar Panel Recycling Machine

Ready to Turn End-of-Life Solar Panels into High-Value Treasure?

Whether you need a standalone Frame Dismantling Machine, a precision Glass Removal Machine, or a complete Solar Panel Recycling System—we have the right solution for your business.

Contact Us Today & Get a Free Quote tailored to your PV panels!

Envíe su solicitud

Which kinds of material you want to process?

Please fill in the following form(give us your specific requests, the detailed the better, so we can give you an optimal solution at the earliest time):

machine enquiry

Excavadoras y carretillas elevadoras de BSGH
Pinza excavadora giratoria de bsghgranulator
industria del reciclaje

From robust tools to advanced recycling machinery, we provide a comprehensive selection: cutting, moving, shearing, grap, baler, separation, a series of heavy-duty equipment engineered to meet the demands of diverse industrial operations and material types. Which kinds of function do you need? Send us your requests now to let our machine help you to get more profits.

¿Qué tipo de máquina peladora de cables quieres?

Por favor, rellene el siguiente formulario (cuéntenos sus solicitudes o puede elegir entre):

Máquina peladora de cables para uso doméstico
1,5 mm-38 mm; 2-45 mm; 2-76 mm; 2-60 mm;
Máquina peladora de cables industrial
10-120 mm; 10-160 mm; 60-200 mm

Según tus peticiones te recomendaré la máquina adecuada.

Maquina recicladora de radiadores

Estructura de la máquina de reciclaje de radiadores.

Disponemos de todo tipo de máquinas de reciclaje de radiadores, además de máquinas peladoras de radiadores individuales y líneas de reciclaje de radiadores, máquinas de corte de radiadores.

Nuestras máquinas son capaces de procesar todo tipo de radiadores de desecho, incluidos radiadores de automóviles, radiadores de tanques de agua y radiadores de aire acondicionado, radiadores revestidos de aluminio, etc.

Prensa hidráulica de metal

fabricante de máquinas empacadoras de automóviles

Nuestra empacadora de metales puede procesar todo tipo de chatarra, además de metales ligeros y metales pesados, metales ferrosos y metales no ferrosos;

Nuestras máquinas tienen desde pequeña presión hasta gran presión 80T, 125T, 135T, 160T, 200T, 250T, 315T y 400T, si no sabe qué presión debe elegir, envíenos una imagen de su material a continuación y solicite una cotización gratis ahora.

Cuéntame tus peticiones

Tenemos:

  • Trituradoras de un solo motor
  • Trituradoras de doble motor
  • Potencia desde 3KW hasta 500KW y más
  • Todas las trituradoras se personalizan según la materia prima del cliente.
  • Nuestra máquina puede triturar: todo tipo de metales, plástico, palets de madera, etc.
  • Material de las cuchillas de la trituradora: H13, SKD-11 y soporte personalizado.
  • Cantidad de dientes de la trituradora: según los diferentes tipos de máquina, los dientes también son diferentes.
  • Precio de la trituradora: desde USD 4900 a USD 300 000
  • Tipo de trituradora: trituradora común y trituradora de motor hidráulico.

¿Puede decirme qué tipo de material desea procesar? Haga clic a continuación y envíe una imagen del material.

Logotipo del fabricante de granuladores BSGH

Motor eléctrico normal

Carcasa del motor de proceso | Estator del motor | Eje del motor

Máquina de reciclaje de motores de nueva energía

Corte de carcasa de motor | Reciclaje de estator de motor

Máquina de reciclaje de arranque de automóvil

Corte de arranque de automóvil | Prensado de arranque de automóvil | Calentamiento de arranque de automóvil | Máquina de tracción de arranque de automóvil

Reciclaje de alternadores de automóviles

Máquina cortadora de alternadores de automóviles | Máquina extractora de alternadores de automóviles

Planta de reciclaje de motores

Línea de reciclaje de estatores de motores | Línea de reciclaje de rotores de motores | Planta de reciclaje de motores completa

Maquina de reciclaje de transformadores

Para el reciclaje de transformadores pequeños

Máquina de reciclaje de compresores

Máquina cortadora de carcasas de compresores | Reciclaje de estatores de compresores

Reciclaje de motores de ventiladores de techo

Principalmente para reciclar motores de ventiladores de techo.

Reciclaje de interruptores magnéticos para automóviles

Para todo tipo de interruptores magnéticos de coche

Reciclaje de motor de buje trasero de bicicleta eléctrica

Para todo tipo de motores de buje de bicicletas eléctricas

Máquina de prensa hidráulica

Principalmente para prensar todo tipo de piezas de motor | Soporte personalizado

DIME¿Qué tipos de motor procesas?

Get 8 Free Miracle documents For Copper Recycling

popup
  • Free excellent pre-sale service gives you best purchase solution
  • Professional technology support when you use our machine
  • Ultimation operation guidance!

Just Leave Your Email, We will Send You Freely!

1: Get copper price today FREELY!

2: Enter into scrap metal group FREELY!

3: Leave your information, get a cable cutter for FREE!

4: ROI Analysis for FREE!

5: Get extra one year warranty for FREE!

6: Get usd100 coupon for FREE!

7: Get spare parts for FREE!

8: Best seller of the month FREELY!

Note: Your email information will be kept strictly confidential.

Note: Your email information will be kept strictly confidential.

Envíe su solicitud

Por favor, rellene el siguiente formulario (cuéntenos sus solicitudes o puede elegir entre):

Serie D Capacidad diferente
50 kg/h, 70 kg/h, 100 kg/h, 200 kg/h, 300 kg/h
Serie N Capacidad Diferente
300~500 kg/h, 400~600 kg/h, 1 tonelada/h, 1200~1500 kg/h

De acuerdo con las diferentes capacidades anteriores, cuéntenos sus solicitudes, una vez que obtengamos su información detallada para sus solicitudes, nos comunicaremos con usted lo antes posible con soluciones profesionales y soporte desde la compra hasta el uso.