400 Ton Scrap Metal Shear from China: Buyer’s Checklist

The 400 ton gantry shear is the general-purpose class of the range — the machine most commercial yards end up on when their feed is mixed steel with real structure in it. This guide is built as a checklist rather than a sales page: what the Q91-400 does, what to verify at your end before the order, and which questions decide between this class and its neighbours.

HUAXIN builds the Q91-400 in Tangshan, China, selling factory-direct to commercial yards, dealers and processing operations worldwide. The specifications below are the published figures from the product page.

What the Q91-400 Is Built For

The Q91-400 is the all-round ferrous workhorse. Published typical output is 35 to 55 tons per day, with 40 mm plate as the continuous cutting boundary and 55 mm as the occasional rating. In the range it is the class that does not specialize: mixed HMS, section steel, plate, structural offcuts and demolition-adjacent feed all sit inside its duty.

That lack of specialization is the point. Buyers who know exactly what they process should look at the classes tuned for it; buyers whose feed is genuinely mixed — and most commercial yards’ feed is genuinely mixed — are the ones this class is built for.

Buyer’s Checklist: The Specification

Specification	Q91-400
Model	Q91-400
Rated force	400 ton
Typical output	35-55 tons per day
Continuous cutting	40 mm plate
Occasional cutting	55 mm plate
Duty	Commercial yards, mixed ferrous feed

Read the two boundary lines against your material list before anything else. If your heaviest weekly items sit inside 40 mm with margin, the class fits. If they sit at the line with no margin, the 500 ton class buys you room — and running at the limit is what shortens blade life and stresses the frame, not the tonnage itself.

Buyer’s Checklist: Your Site

• Three heaviest weekly items, measured, against the 40 mm continuous boundary — with margin, not at the line.
• Chamber and feeding tank dimensions against your heaviest pieces; every pre-cut piece is labor paid on every shift.
• Supply voltage, frequency and spare kilowatts, with the starting method agreed with your electrician before the build.
• Foundation drawings to your contractor the week the order is placed; the machine should arrive to a curing pad, not a plan.
• Delivery route measured: door width, floor loading, crane hook height at set-down, with photos sent to us before shipping.
• Crane capacity and cycle time at the box — 35-55 tons per day assumes charged material arriving on schedule.
• Blade steel grade and configuration for your actual feed; mixed or contaminated material earns a different specification.
• Discharge arrangement confirmed at quotation: where cut material goes, who ties it, what happens when the bay fills.
• Spare kit and operator training booked with the order, not after the first failure.

The Duty Conversation

This is the class where buyers start comparing shifts rather than tons, and the comparison matters. A machine quoted for single-shift yards is not the build quoted for two or three: frame, cylinder seals and hydraulics all change with duty. If your operation runs two shifts on mixed ferrous feed — the profile this class is named for — say so at quotation.

Blade life follows the same logic. A 400 ton machine on clean, well-prepared feed wears blades at one rate; the same machine on mixed, contaminated feed wears them faster, and the blade configuration for that duty is a different answer. The standard build uses H13 or M6V tool steel at 56-62 HRC, four-edge reversible — specify the duty, not just the tonnage.

Running the 400 on Mixed Ferrous Feed

A week on the 400 rarely looks like the specification sheet. Monday might be plate-heavy structural offcuts, Wednesday might be light section and turnings, and Friday might arrive with a demolition load someone picked up cheap. The machine handles all of it — that is what the all-round designation means — but the week runs better when the feed is managed rather than merely accepted.

Three habits make the difference on mixed feed. Sort at the gate: pulling the obvious contamination and the pieces above the boundary before they reach the box costs minutes and saves blades. Fill the chamber properly: a partial charge is a partial cut, and partial cuts are what dull edges and stress frames. And keep the heavy pieces for the shifts when the crane is free, rather than forcing them into the busiest hour of the day.

None of those habits appear on a quotation, and all of them show up in the operating numbers. Buyers who run them report blade life and output figures close to the published ones; buyers who feed whatever arrives, whenever it arrives, report numbers well below them — on the same machine, in the same class.

The 400 in a Trading Operation

A large share of 400-ton buyers are not yards at all — they are dealers and processors who buy mixed material, size it, and sell the output at a premium. For that operation the 400 is not production equipment; it is margin equipment. The calculation is simple: material bought loose and sold sized earns more per ton, and the machine pays for itself out of that spread rather than out of tonnage pride. What matters for the trading buyer is consistency — the cut specification has to satisfy the buyer at the other end, every load — and the class holds 40 mm continuous work comfortably. If your operation is a trading one, tell us the specification your buyers expect and the configuration is confirmed against it at quotation.

Sizing Against the Neighbours

Below the Q91-400 sits the Q91-315: 30 mm continuous, 25-45 tons per day, the growing-yard class. Above sits the Q91-500: 50 mm continuous, 45-60 tons per day, the demolition class.

The 315-versus-400 decision is usually about plate thickness in the feed. The 400-versus-500 decision is usually about what arrives with the steel: concrete-adhered sections, demolition material and consistently heavier feed point at the 500, while clean mixed ferrous sits comfortably at 400.

Getting the Machine to Your Yard

Written quotations come back inside two business days, factory direct, with the specification sheet attached for your electrician and foundation contractor. 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 exact date confirmed in writing.

Run your site work in parallel with the build: foundations, electrical scope and the delivery route all happen at your end while the machine is being built, and that parallel path is what turns the build window into metal in your first week. The document set — invoice, packing list, bill of lading, certificates — is prepared alongside the build, so request 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 operator training. The machine is CE certified with the certificate in the documentation pack, and the one-year warranty runs on the published maintenance schedule.

When to Choose Differently

If your feed is light and your volume modest, the 315 does the job for less. If your feed is demolition-heavy — concrete-adhered sections, consistently heavy pieces — the 500 is the honest class. And if your main problem is bulky mixed waste rather than sized steel, a shredder belongs in the line, with or without the shear.

We would rather quote you the right class than the middle one. If your material list says 315, we will say 315.

Q91-400 Buyer FAQ

What makes the 400 the “all-round” class?

Its duty profile. Mixed ferrous feed — HMS, section steel, plate, structural offcuts — all sit inside its published boundaries, so the buyer whose feed is genuinely mixed does not have to specialize the machine.

What is the continuous cutting boundary?

40 mm plate continuously, 55 mm occasionally. Plan around the continuous number and treat the occasional column as the exception it is.

How does it compare to the 500?

The 500 steps to 50 mm continuous and 45-60 tons per day, and it is built for demolition-duty feed with concrete-adhered sections. The 400 is the clean mixed-ferrous class.

What power supply applies?

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 transformer at quotation. Confirm with your electrician before the order.

How long does delivery take?

Expect 30 to 45 days from deposit to dispatch on standard configurations; non-standard combinations run longer with the date confirmed in writing. Your foundation and electrical work usually sets the real timeline.

What support is included?

One-year warranty on the published maintenance schedule, full documentation with schematics and foundation drawings, commissioning with test runs and operator training, and a spare kit available with the machine.

Talk to the Factory Before You Decide

Send us your material list, your shift pattern and your site supply, and we will confirm whether the Q91-400 is the right class — or point you at the 315 or the 500 with the reasoning in writing. You will have a written quotation within two business days, factory direct.

Ready to shortlist? Compare the Q91-400 specification against your material list, browse the full shear range, or send our team the list. The FAQ page covers the warranty, delivery and commissioning details.