Combo Single/Double Shaft Plastic Shredder

Combo Single/Double Shaft Shredder ZDS Series

The ZDS series combo shredder combines the material handling flexibility of a single shaft design with the aggressive cutting power of a double shaft configuration. This hybrid approach delivers efficient size reduction for films, bags, fabrics, and municipal waste that would be challenging for either design alone.

Key Features

• Dual independent motor drive system for balanced torque distribution
• SKD-11 alloy steel blades with long service life and reversible cutting edges
• Automatic reverse rotation on overload to prevent blade damage
• Low-speed high-torque design minimizes noise and dust generation
• Siemens PLC touchscreen control panel with real-time load monitoring
• Heavy-duty planetary gear reducer for reliable 24/7 operation
• Hopper with integrated safety screens and emergency stop system

Processing Materials

Plastic films, jumbo bags (FIBC), woven bags, waste fibers, plastic ropes, non-woven fabric, chemical fiber filament, municipal solid waste (MSW).

Applications

Film and bag recycling facilities, textile waste processing, municipal solid waste pre-treatment, agricultural film recycling, post-consumer packaging waste.

What "Combo" Actually Means

The ZDS runs a single shaft and a double shaft configuration in one frame, which is a different proposition from buying two machines. A single shaft shredder shears material against a counter-knife with screen control; a double shaft machine tears it between two counter-rotating hook-toothed shafts and controls size with blade spacing. Feedstocks do not always respect that distinction. A mixed stream of purgings, film and rigid scrap will behave well in one mode and badly in the other depending on the day.

The combo arrangement lets an operator switch rather than compromise. It suits recyclers whose input changes with whatever arrives on the truck, and plants that would otherwise idle one machine while running the other.

Output Size and Where It Sits in the Line

With blade spacing adjustable between 40 and 120 mm, the ZDS produces a coarser, more irregular flake than a screen-controlled single shaft machine. That is the right feed for a heavy duty granulator, which takes the flake down to 8–20 mm. Lines targeting powder add a disc pulverizer after the granulator.

Dual planetary gear reducers drive both shafts, which is what allows the machine to run at 16–24 RPM while still delivering the torque needed for thick-walled stock. Low shaft speed is not a weakness here — it is how the machine absorbs shock loading from contaminated feed without destroying the drive train.

Selecting a Model

Throughput ranges from 500 kg/h on the ZDS-600 to 1,800 kg/h on the ZDS-1500, with motor power from 22 kW × 2 up to 110–132 kW × 2. Choose on the basis of peak feed rate rather than average, because the machines are usually sized by the worst bale of the month, not the typical one.

Where the stream is consistently rigid and clean, a dedicated single shaft machine with a screen will give a more uniform flake. The combo earns its cost when the stream is not consistent.

Operating Notes

Shaft speed, blade spacing and knife condition interact. Widening the spacing raises throughput and produces coarser output; narrowing it does the reverse and increases load. Operators who chase throughput by opening the spacing to its maximum usually pay for it downstream, when the granulator has to work harder on oversized flake.

SKD-11 knives are standard. As with any shredder, contamination — metal fittings, sand, glass-filled compounds — is the main driver of wear, and screening the input is cheaper than replacing knives.

Related Reading

• Single shaft vs double shaft: choosing the cutting action
• Shredder vs crusher: where each one belongs
• Common shredder faults and how to troubleshoot them