500 Ton Scrap Metal Shear from China: What to Check

The 500 ton gantry shear is the demolition class — the machine built for feed that arrives with concrete still on it, sections that fought the building they came out of, and pieces that laugh at lighter classes. This guide covers what to check before buying the Q91-500: the specification, the feed reality, and the four questions that decide whether demolition duty is really your duty.

HUAXIN builds the Q91-500 in Tangshan, China, selling factory-direct to demolition contractors, scrap dealers and processors worldwide. The figures below are the published specifications from the product page.

What the Q91-500 Is Built For

The Q91-500 is the demolition-duty gantry shear. Published typical output is 45 to 60 tons per day, with 50 mm plate as the continuous cutting boundary and 65 mm as the occasional rating. The class exists for one feed profile: demolition scrap, concrete-adhered sections, and the mixed heavy material that comes out of structures rather than out of yards.

That profile is specific, and it is the reason this class is not simply “a bigger 400.” Demolition feed is contaminated, irregular and often arrives with non-steel still attached. The build, blade configuration and hydraulics are specified against that reality — which is why the duty conversation matters more at this class than at any below it.

What to Check: The Specification

Specification	Q91-500
Model	Q91-500
Rated force	500 ton
Typical output	45-60 tons per day
Continuous cutting	50 mm plate
Occasional cutting	65 mm plate
Duty	Demolition scrap, concrete-adhered sections

Check the boundary lines against your feed, not against your ambition. If your heaviest weekly material is concrete-adhered section steel inside 50 mm with margin, this is your class. If your feed is clean mixed ferrous without the demolition contamination, the Q91-400 does the job for less money — and buying demolition capacity for clean feed is a premium you pay for nothing.

What to Check: Your Feed, Honestly

Four questions decide whether this class is right, and they are all about your material rather than your machine.

• Does your feed actually contain concrete-adhered sections, or is that a occasional exception? Demolition duty is a profile, not an aspiration.
• How contaminated is the material? Concrete, rebar tails and attached non-steel all change the blade configuration and the wear rate.
• What is the heaviest piece that arrives every week, measured — not the heaviest piece you have ever seen?
• Is your crane rated for the pieces this class takes? A demolition shear fed by an undersized crane produces like a smaller machine.

Buyers who answer those four honestly end up on the right machine. Buyers who answer them aspirationally end up on the 500 when the 400 was the answer — or, worse, on the 400 when the 500 was.

Blade Configuration for Demolition Feed

Blade life is the operating number at this class, and demolition feed is hard on blades. The standard build uses H13 or M6V tool steel at 56-62 HRC, four-edge reversible, but contaminated and abrasive feed earns a different specification — specify the duty at quotation rather than discovering the wear rate in month three.

Two operating habits protect the investment on demolition duty. Pull the obvious non-steel at the gate rather than at the box, and keep the regrind interval honest — blades reground on schedule last dramatically longer than blades run to failure. Both are free, and both show up in the wear-parts bill.

What to Check: Your Site

• Supply voltage, frequency and spare kilowatts, with the starting method agreed with your electrician before production starts.
• Foundation drawings to your contractor the week the order is placed, with anchorage matched to the duty.
• Delivery route measured at your end: door width, floor loading, crane hook height at set-down.
• Crane capacity and cycle time at the box — 45-60 tons per day assumes charged material arriving on schedule.
• Discharge arrangement: demolition output is bulky, and cut material under the box becomes downtime fast.
• Spare kit — seals, hoses, filter elements, wear edges — ordered with the machine, plus operator training booked before it leaves the factory.

Charging Demolition Feed Properly

Demolition feed punishes lazy charging more than any other material. Concrete-adhered sections should hit the blade clean or not at all — a piece that lands concrete-first wears the edge for no cutting return, and the habit costs blades rather than moments. Pull the obvious non-steel at the gate, orient long pieces so the cut lands on steel rather than on the attached material, and keep the heaviest bites for the shift when the crane has time. None of that is in the manual, and all of it shows up in the wear bill. Buyers who run demolition feed with discipline get blade life close to the published figures; buyers who charge whatever the crane brings get half of it, on the same machine.

The same discipline applies to the occasional rating. A 65 mm piece is a bite the Q91-500 can take when the day allows it; it is not a daily assignment, and a yard that treats it as one is choosing blade bills over blade life. Sort the feed, charge clean, and the demolition class holds its numbers for years.

Sizing Against the Neighbours

Below the Q91-500 sits the Q91-400: the clean mixed-ferrous class. Above sits the Q91-630: 60 mm continuous, the first class rated for continuous HMS duty.

The decision between 500 and 630 is usually about HMS. Demolition feed with heavy HMS mixed in, run continuously, points at the 630 — it is the first class in the range built for that duty. Demolition feed that is mostly section and plate with occasional heavy pieces sits comfortably at 500.

Getting the Machine to Your Yard

Written quotations come back inside two business days, factory direct, with a specification sheet your electrician and foundation contractor can work from. The deposit starts the build, and standard configurations leave Tangshan 30 to 45 days later; non-standard chamber, motor or control combinations run longer, with the date confirmed in writing against the order.

Your site work should run in parallel with the build — foundations, electrical scope, delivery route — because that parallel path is what puts metal on the ground in your first week rather than your first month. The document set (invoice, packing list, bill of lading, certificates) is prepared alongside the build; request drafts with the quotation so your broker can classify early.

Commissioning is included: our engineer handles leveling, electrical connection, no-load and load runs and operator training. The machine is CE certified, the certificate ships with the machine documents, and the one-year warranty runs on the published maintenance schedule.

When to Choose Differently

If your feed is clean mixed ferrous, the 400 is the honest class and we will say so. If your feed is HMS-dominant and continuous, the 630 is. And if your real problem is bulky mixed waste that needs reducing rather than sizing, a shredder belongs in the line alongside the shear.

The demolition class earns its money on demolition feed. On anything cleaner, it is a premium purchase.

Q91-500 Buyer FAQ

What feed is this class built for?

Demolition scrap: concrete-adhered sections, structural offcuts and mixed heavy material. The published continuous boundary is 50 mm plate, with 65 mm as the occasional rating.

How does it differ from the 400?

Duty profile. The 400 is the clean mixed-ferrous class at 40 mm continuous; the 500 is specified for contaminated demolition feed at 50 mm continuous, with a build matched to that duty.

When should I step up to the 630?

When your feed is HMS-dominant and run continuously. The 630 is the first class in the range rated for continuous HMS duty, and that is a build difference rather than a tonnage difference.

What blade configuration suits demolition feed?

The standard build uses H13 or M6V at 56-62 HRC, four-edge reversible, but contaminated and abrasive feed earns a different specification. Declare your duty at quotation and the configuration is confirmed in writing.

What power supply and delivery terms apply?

The build covers 380 V, 400 V or 415 V at 50 Hz, with 60 Hz to order. Standard configurations ship 30 to 45 days after the deposit clears, with non-standard combinations longer and the date in writing.

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 that ships with the machine.

Talk to the Factory Before You Decide

Send us your feed description — contamination included — your shift pattern and your site supply, and we will confirm whether the Q91-500 is the honest class, or point you at the 400 or the 630 with the reasoning in writing. Quotations come back inside two business days, factory direct.

Ready to shortlist? Compare the Q91-500 specification against your feed, browse the full shear range, or send our team your material list. The FAQ page covers warranty, delivery and commissioning.