200 Ton Scrap Metal Shear from China: Buyer’s Guide

The 200 ton gantry shear is the entry class of the range, and it is also the class where first-time buyers most often overspend — by stretching for a bigger machine they do not need, or by undersizing one they do. This guide is about getting the Q91-200 decision right: what it cuts, where it stops, and which yard it actually fits.

Some context on the machine: HUAXIN builds the Q91-200 in Tangshan, China, and sells it factory-direct to small yards, first-time buyers and single-shift operations worldwide. Every number below is the published figure from the product page — the same data we use when a buyer calls.

What the Q91-200 Is Built For

The Q91-200 is the entry gantry shear for small yards and single-shift duty. It is built around a specific feed profile: light to medium steel scrap, thin plate, section offcuts and the occasional heavier piece. Its published typical output is 20 to 40 tons per day, which on a well-fed small yard is a full shift’s work.

What that means in practice is a machine tuned for the buyer who is buying their first shear, not their third. The build is proportionate to the duty: a smaller frame than the mid classes, a hydraulic package matched to single-shift hours, and a chamber that takes the material small yards actually see. None of that appears on a price comparison, and all of it shows up in year two.

The Numbers That Decide Fit

Specification	Q91-200
Model	Q91-200
Rated force	200 ton
Typical output	20-40 tons per day
Continuous cutting	Light to medium plate
Occasional cutting	HMS 1&2 in small quantities
Duty	Single shift, small-yard feed

Two columns in that table carry the whole decision. The continuous column is your daily diet — light to medium plate, all shift, every shift. The occasional column is the exception, and on this class the exception is narrow: HMS 1&2 in small quantities, not HMS as a routine feed. Read those two lines honestly against your own material list and the class decision mostly makes itself.

The HMS Question, Answered Honestly

Most buyers considering the 200 ton class ask the same question: will it take HMS? The published answer is yes, in small quantities and occasionally — and that boundary exists for a reason buyers should understand rather than discover.

HMS 1&2 is dense, irregular and often contaminated. On a 200 ton frame it is a bite the machine can take when the piece is modest and the day is not a heavy one. What it is not built for is continuous HMS duty, shift after shift, because that duty wears blades faster than the class is built to absorb and stresses a frame that was proportioned for lighter feed. If continuous HMS is your daily reality, the honest answer starts at the 630 ton class — the first machine in our range rated for it — and we will say so on the first call.

This honesty costs us the occasional sale and saves buyers the expensive lesson: a machine run past its published boundary does not fail dramatically, it just wears, and the wear shows up in blade bills and downtime inside two years.

One-Person Operation and Small-Yard Reality

One of the reasons this class sells to first-time buyers is that it does not demand a large organization around it. One operator can run the machine; the labor question at a small yard is usually about the crane and the handling rather than the shear itself. If your crane is shared with other work, plan your output around the crane’s availability rather than the machine’s rating — a 200 ton machine fed by a shared crane produces like a smaller one.

The power question is usually the real gate at a small yard. Motor ratings in this class commonly exceed what an existing small-yard supply can start comfortably, and the starting method has to be matched to your transformer before the machine is built. Have your electrician confirm voltage, frequency and spare capacity before the order, not after the machine is on a truck.

What to Confirm Before You Order

• Your three heaviest weekly items, measured, against the published boundary — light to medium plate as routine, HMS 1&2 only in small quantities.
• Supply voltage, frequency and spare kilowatts at the panel, with the starting method agreed with your electrician.
• The physical route into your building: door width, floor loading, crane hook height at set-down.
• Foundation drawings sent to your contractor the week the order is placed — the machine arrives to a pad that is already curing.
• Crane capacity and cycle time at the box, because the rating assumes charged material arriving on schedule.
• Blade configuration and steel grade specified for your actual feed, if your material is mixed or dirty.
• The spare kit — seals, hoses, filter elements, one set of wear edges — ordered with the machine rather than after the first failure.
• Operator training booked before the machine leaves the factory; feed technique is most of blade life on any class.

Sizing: What Sits Below and Above

Below the Q91-200 sits the Q43-200 alligator shear — a portable machine that needs no foundation and takes rebar, 45 mm round bar and 20 mm plate. If your heaviest stock is lighter than the gantry class expects and your space rules out a foundation, the alligator is the honest answer and we will quote it instead.

Above sits the Q91-315, which steps the continuous boundary to 30 mm plate and typical output to 25-45 tons per day. Buyers cross-shopping these two usually decide on one dull question: what is the thickest piece that arrives at your gate every week? If it is inside the 200 ton boundary with margin, stay at 200. If it sits at the top of the range with no margin, the 315 is the better spend.

Getting the Machine to Your Yard

The buying sequence runs on parallel tracks: the machine at our end, the site work at yours. Quotes come back within two business days, factory direct, with the specification sheet your electrician and foundation contractor can work from. The deposit starts the build, and standard configurations leave our Tangshan factory 30 to 45 days later; non-standard chamber, motor or control combinations run longer, with the date confirmed in writing.

Use the build window well: foundations, electrical scope and delivery route all happen at your end while the machine is being built, and buyers who run those in parallel are cutting metal in the first week after arrival. Paperwork — invoice, packing list, bill of lading and the certificate set — is prepared alongside the build, so ask for drafts with the quotation and your broker can classify early.

Commissioning is part of the purchase: our engineer handles leveling, electrical connection, no-load and load runs, and trains your operators. The range is CE certified and the certificate ships with the documentation, and the one-year warranty runs on the published maintenance schedule — filters, oil, clearances, fastener torque.

When 200 Tons Is Not Enough

Three signals say this class is too small for you. Your heaviest weekly material sits above light to medium plate as a routine, not an exception. Your output requirement runs past 40 tons per day on a regular basis. Or your feed is HMS-dominant — in which case the honest answer starts at 630 tons, not at 315.

None of those signals is a failure of the machine; they are a fit question. The Q91-200 does its job for a very long time when it is sized right, and the yards that regret the purchase are the ones who bought it for the duty they wished they had rather than the duty they actually run.

Q91-200 Buyer FAQ

Will a 200 ton shear cut HMS?

Yes, in small quantities and occasionally — that is the published boundary of this class. Continuous HMS duty starts at the 630 ton class. If HMS is your daily feed, we will quote you the right machine rather than the cheaper one.

What is the typical daily output?

The published figure is 20 to 40 tons per day, assuming the crane keeps the box charged. On small yards the crane is usually the constraint rather than the shear.

Can one person run it?

One operator can run the machine, though feeding, discharge and record-keeping are separate jobs on a busy day. Plan labor around the whole flow rather than the machine alone.

What power supply do I need?

The build covers 380 V, 400 V or 415 V at 50 Hz, with 60 Hz supply to order, and the starting method is matched to your site at quotation. Confirm with your electrician before the order — wiring a machine to a supply it was not built for voids the warranty.

How long does delivery take?

Standard builds leave the factory 30 to 45 days after the deposit clears; non-standard combinations run longer with the date confirmed in writing. Your own foundation and electrical work is usually the long pole, not the factory.

What warranty and support are included?

One year on the machine with the maintenance schedule attached to the purchase order, plus leveling instructions, electrical schematics and the hydraulic diagram in the documentation pack. Commissioning covers connection, test runs and operator training, and the spare kit can ship with the machine.

Talk to the Factory Before You Decide

Send us your three heaviest weekly items, your shift pattern and your site supply, and we will confirm whether the Q91-200 is the honest answer — including when the alligator class, or the 315, fits you better. Quotes come back within two business days, factory direct.

Ready to shortlist? Compare the Q91-200 specification against your material list, browse the full shear range, or send our team your material list. The FAQ page covers warranty, delivery and commissioning in detail.