What are the differences between a shredder and a granulator?
Initially, we must point out that both machines help reduce the volume of materials. In other words, we observe that essentially their goal is to take a bulky object and reduce its dimensions, but if we pay attention to the details we will see that there are significant differences between the two and a wrong choice can prove costly.
The main difference between the two is the final result.
The shredder is a single-level machine whose main job is to shred materials into more manageable dimensions, from 20 to 100mm, especially shredders with 2 cutting axes which usually do not have a sieve so that there is a uniform final result.
In contrast, the granulator can repeatedly shred a material until the material passes through the sieve, which usually has dimensions of 6 to 12mm. This feature makes it ideal for a uniform final result.
So one way to decide which machine is right for us is to decide what result we want.
Also, an important factor that separates the two machines is the power supply method.
Granulators operate at high speeds (from 485 to 1460 rpm) with low torque characteristics. With the above characteristics , it is therefore not appropriate to feed bulky and high-density materials to the granulators because they cause high noise and problems in the shredding process, which leads to damage to the machine. Most granulators are fed manually, by conveyor belt or in some other similar way.
Shredders , on the other hand , operate at low speeds (from 3.6 to 83 rpm) with high torque. In shredders, the opposite is true. The heavier the material, the easier it is to shred because the weight of the material itself pushes against the shredding shafts. Also, many shredders can reverse their shafts to avoid any jamming, especially in very coarse materials or foreign matter.
Of course, there are also cases where a combination of both functions is necessary. Initially, the shredder reduces the volume of the materials and then a conveyor belt transports the material to the granulator where it obtains the final desired result.
