Although both plastic film crushers and plastic bottle crushers are plastic crushing equipment, their design objectives, working principles, structural characteristics and applicable scenarios are significantly different, mainly due to the great differences in the material properties they process (film vs. hard bottles/containers):
Core difference On Plastic Film Crusher and Plastic Bottle Crusher:
Plastic film crusher: Designed for processing thin, soft, and easily entangled plastic films (such as PE agricultural film, stretch film, plastic bags, packaging film, non-woven fabrics, etc.). The core challenge is to prevent the material from wrapping around the cutter and spindle.
Plastic bottle crusher: Designed for processing hard, thick, large, and non-deformable plastic bottles, containers, barrels, pipes, and profiles (such as PET beverage bottles, HDPE detergent bottles, PVC pipes, PP barrels, etc.). The core challenge is to efficiently crush hard materials.
Mechanical Design Differences On Plastic Film Crusher and Plastic Bottle Crusher:
The difference between the materials suitable for plastic film crusher and plastic bottle crusher:
Plastic film crusher is suitable for processing thin, soft, tough, easy to float and entangle waste plastics (such as PE film, PP woven bags, plastic bags, cling film, non-woven fabrics, ton bags).
Film crusher needs to prevent materials from entanglement with knives and spindles; efficient shearing rather than hitting.
Plastic bottle crusher (hard plastic crusher) is suitable for processing hard, thick, relatively brittle, and not easy to deform (such as PET bottles, HDPE bottles, PVC pipes, PP barrels, PS boxes, ABS shells)
Hard plastic crusher needs to crush hard materials with strong force; process large objects; and efficiently produce fragments.
The difference between the cutter design of film material crusher and hard material crusher：
The cutter of film material crusher adopts the scissor principle of rotating moving knife + fixed bottom knife:
The number of moving knives is large and the distance between knives is small.
The cutting edge is usually sharp and designed with anti-winding structure (such as grooves and hook teeth).
The shearing action is the main action.
The hard material crusher adopts the tearing/cutting principle of rotating moving knife + fixed fixed knife:
The number of moving knives is relatively small, but it is thicker and stronger.
The cutting edge can be sharp or obtuse (tearing).
The gap between the moving knife and the fixed knife is adjustable.
Tearing, cutting, and impact action.
Differences in feeding system design between film crusher and hard material crusher
Film crusher usually uses forced feeding (critical):
Pressing roller (single roller or multiple rollers).
Conveyor belt + pressing device.
Ensure that the film is continuously and stably “pushed” into the shear zone to prevent rebound and winding
Hard material crusher is mostly gravity feeding or feeding hopper with pre-pressing function:
Large opening hopper.
There may be hydraulic push plate or rotary press (for large volume bottles/barrels).
The material enters the crushing chamber by its own weight or auxiliary pressure.
The difference in power/torque design between film material crusher and hard material crusher
The power/torque of film material crusher is relatively low: it mainly overcomes shear force and prevents winding, and the requirement for instantaneous impact force is not as high as that of plastic bottle (hard material crusher). The power configuration focuses more on matching feed speed and shear efficiency.
The power/torque of plastic crusher (hard material crusher) is relatively high: it needs to provide strong torque and impact force to crush hard bottle blanks, barrel walls or thick-walled pipes. Especially high torque is required at the moment of starting and crushing.
Summary About Plastic Crusher:
Despite these differences, there are some general-purpose or multi-functional crushers on the market that can process both film and bottles by changing the type of cutter or adjusting the gap between the cutters, but their efficiency and effectiveness in processing a single material may not be as good as dedicated equipment. At the same time, we also have plastic grinders and plastic shredders to meet the needs of different customers for crushing waste plastics.
When choosing to purchase a plastic crusher, you should choose the most suitable crusher for you based on the type of plastic waste you mainly handle, the expected output and the budget.
If you need to purchase a plastic crusher, but don’t know how to choose the right one, please leave me a message. Our company has been producing and selling plastic recycling lines for many years. Our technicians and sales have rich knowledge and experience in plastic recycling equipment and can give you machine recommendations that suit your materials and budget. You are very welcome to visit our factory.