A shredder is a machine used for coarse crushing, generally used to process unprocessed raw materials or scraps to make them smaller in size. Compared with other crushers, it has a low blade shaft speed, low noise and low energy consumption.
Shredders are mainly divided into soft material shredders and hard material shredders according to the hardness of the shredder materials. According to the commonly used materials, they are divided into plastic shredders and metal shredders. Plastic shredders can shred: plastic film, plastic pipes, rubber, woven bags, etc., and can also shred waste cloth and household garbage. Metal shredders can shred: waste steel bars, machine head materials, bicycles, motorcycles, aluminum plates, circuit boards, etc.
For different materials, the configuration required by the shredder is also different. The main costs of shredder equipment manufacturing are as follows: blades, reducers, processing and housing.
Generally speaking, the costs of the latter two items are roughly the same as long as they are the same model of equipment. The reason why the prices of different shredders on the market vary by more than double is mainly due to the blades and reducers.
Let’s talk about the shredder blades first.
If the raw material to be shredded by the metal shredder is scrap metal, which is a harder material, the shredder must use blades of better materials. If the raw material to be shredded by the plastic shredder is soft and tough materials such as waste plastics, waste cardboard, and waste woven bags, then ordinary blades of general materials can be used.
At present, there are many different blades made of different materials in China. The strength and hardness of blades of different materials are different, and the price will also differ by several times. For example, the H13 material we often see on the Internet is 4Cr5MoSiV1, which is mixed with alloys such as chromium, molybdenum, silicon, and vanadium. It has extremely high hardenability and toughness. It will not soften when the shredder encounters hard materials and heats up at high temperatures.
At the same time, it has corrosion resistance, so it can easily handle water-containing materials and chemical corrosive materials. This high-quality material itself is very expensive, and after processing, the price of the blade can basically double. If the general materials, such as manganese steel, chrome steel and other materials are used, the price is relatively low. The price difference is usually directly reflected in the use effect.
For example, if the same scrap steel bar is used with ordinary material blades, it will basically be worn out within a month and the whole set needs to be replaced. The blades made of high-quality steel are usually used for 2-8 months (depending on the specific materials to be shredded and the frequency of use). The price difference is only 1-3 times, but the use effect and life can reach 5-8 times. In comparison, which one would you be willing to choose?
In the next article, let’s talk about the impact of reducers on the price of shredders.
