Every year around 10 million tonnes of cardboard and cardboard are produced in Germany for packaging purposes. In terms of recyclability, the industry is one of the pioneers: approx. 70% of all paper products are mostly made from waste paper. A paper fiber can be reused about seven times before it becomes unusable for paper and board making.
Reasons for volume reduction:
- Reducing costs of transportation
- Optimum compression of material for feeding to existing pressed-waste containers or baling presses
- Shredding of material for conveyor belt feeding
Recycling of paper and cardboard is very important, economically and ecologically - because the more paper is recycled, the less newly felled wood has to be used for paper production.
Before cartons are pressed into bales and then defibred, it is even more cost-efficient to reduce and shred the material in advance. This volume reduction step will be carried out in recycling companies as well as in recycling centers or cardboard and corrugated cardboard factories.
For these requirements, we´ve developed a special product line with our cardboard shredders EKZ and FKZ, which are available in several sizes. Likewise, the conception of the Erdwich systems is exactly matched to the downstream transport systems.
The EKZ has two shafts with independent drives: a fast-running breaking shaft and a slow-running feeding shaft. The feeding shaft feeds the carton to the breaking shaft, which shreds the cartons into the desired unit size. Even fruit crates, Styrofoam packaging and other types of packaging process the machines without any problem.
In addition to the standard configuration as a stand-alone machine with manual loading or conveyor belt loading, the carton shredder EKZ can also be installed in combination with press containers. With the fine cardboard shredder FKZ, the material can be sucked directly into existing conveyor systems.
We tear ourselves apart for your tasks. Use our proven Erdwich technology for your cardboard shredding applications. To get an idea of what we’re capable of, please see our case studies.
Now it’s your turn: we look forward to receiving your project enquiry!
Are the cardboard shredders sensitive to metal parts?
Smaller metal parts in the form of staples, etc., are of no consequence. These smallest parts slide through the cutting gear without themselves being shredded. However, larger massive parts or foreign materials of any kind should be avoided in the cardboard boxes. It could lead to fatal consequences for the cutting unit and knives if larger metal parts were to get into the cutting gear. Consequently, foreign materials of any kind should be avoided. The EKZ is equipped with a PLC module including an automatic reverse and cut-out control, which is integrated in the control system of the shredder. This module serves to protect the machine from damage of any kind in the event of overload or from the massive parts mentioned here.
What are the advantages of cardboard shredders and their use?
The operation of EKZ machines optimises the entire intralogistics process of a company, especially logistics companies. Due to the often very bulky and voluminous cardboard materials and outer packaging, blockages often occur in the presses at the end of such a disposal line and this inevitably leads to increased personnel expenditure and the need to free these again. Using targeted pre-shredding of the materials, such negative side effects can be prevented. This means that the prior shredding increases the press volume due to the now significantly smaller cardboard material components. Furthermore, wear and tear, as well as energy consumption on the on-site press, are reduced by the prior shredding with the Erdwich EKZ.
Thanks to this prior shredding the cardboard boxes and packaging that arise here can be better and more easily removed through the peripheral on-site facilities, e.g. discharge conveyor belts.
What distinguishes Erdwich cardboard shredders, (short form is EKZ), and what requirements are they intended to fulfil for the industry?
Erdwich EKZ machines are characterised by their robustness and reliability, resulting in very long service lives in application. Such shredders are often in operation 24 hours a day and are subject to the highest stresses.
Easy maintenance of the cardboard shredders, especially due to low-maintenance chain drives and individually bolted, replaceable feed and ripper segments, result in low operating and maintenance costs. The EKZ is also characterised by its variable application options. The cardboard ripper is available in horizontal as well as vertical versions and with different cutting gear lengths. This means that it can be used for a wide variety of carton shapes and sizes. The horizontal version is perfect for manual feeding by hand and the vertical version is ideal for continuous feeding via a conveyor feed system, etc.
The cardboard shredder is available in cutting gear lengths of 1,100 mm, 1,400 mm, 1,800 mm and 2,500 mm and can achieve average throughputs of 1,000 - 1,500 kg/h for cardboard materials. In addition to these different variants, there are also different blade shapes, one in a scale shape and one in a star shape. Depending on the material and carton shape, the feeding characteristics of the shredder can be individually optimised. The result of the shredding is pieces of different sizes and shapes. An exact final grain size cannot be defined.
In addition, this type of machine is perfect for implementation in a company´s already existing processing lines and can be integrated according to the Industry standard 4.0 incl. complete automation methodology. An integrated PLC automation with reverse and automatic cut-out is standard in the switchgear of the EKZ shredder.
Are there any special requirements for filling material?
The EKZ is capable of shredding packaging, cardboard boxes and flat cardboard of all kinds. Metallic objects should be avoided.