Industrial facilities that engage in plastics processing utilize a lot of different equipment in their operations, such as plastic pelletizers, granulators, plastic grinders, shredders, and more.
Companies who are new to the industry, or those who are looking to expand, may wonder about the differences between some of these types of equipment, however. In this post, we’ll look at the key differences between a granulator machine and a shredding machine to help you determine which is best for your needs.
Shredders
Here are some fast facts to know about shredders and their operation:
- Shredders take larger materials and shred them to more manageable units, with some models able to reduce chosen materials to a uniform size
- Shredders are less efficient at low throughputs, with some units struggling to work well in these scenarios as heavier loads in the feed bin are easier to push forward into the rotor
- The rotors used in shredders are usually composed of solid steel, or are made of heavy-duty weldments
- Because shredders produce larger pieces as an end result of operation, there can be considerable variation in these pieces and a lot of dust, with granulators needed to further process and reduce the material
Granulators
Here are some fast facts to know about granulators and their operation:
- Granulators reduce materials to much smaller sizes compared to shredders and even grinders, with sizes of 0.2 mm or lower being possible
- These small sizes are made possible due to the open-rotor design of granulators that helps to facilitate the processing of lighter materials, compared to the closed-rotor operation of shredders and grinders
- The open-rotor functionality of granulators also means more air space is present facilitating product agitation and cooling
- Because granulators further refine and reduce materials, they are often used in conjunction with other processing equipment such as grinders and shredders
- Granulators tend to require a more specialized feeding process, either by hand, conveyer, or robot, to avoid jamming, in comparison to shredders which do not necessitate as much oversight and can simply be fed material that has been dumped in the feed hopper
Which Option Is Right for My Business, a Plastic Shredder or Plastic Granulator?
Whether a granulator machine or a shredder machine are ideal for your operations depends on numerous factors:
- What kind of material will be reduced?
- How large is the material that will be put into the equipment?
- How small do I want the end product?
As we addressed above, shredders tend to work best, and sometimes exclusively, with larger materials, whereas granulators work with smaller, more manageable materials and reduce them down even further.
If you’re in need of neater, more manageable, uniform pieces as an end product, a granulator is certainly ideal, while if all you need is rough size reduction, a shredder is probably preferable.
These two types of equipment though can be used together to facilitate the best in material reduction, so you should consider your ultimate goals for the reduced material.
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If you’re looking for a plastic granulator, shredder, or other type of plastic processing equipment, be sure to reach out to our dedicated team today so we can help!
