Shredding, crushing and pulverizing configurations for PE, HDPE, PP, PVC, PET, PS, ABS and composite plastics.
A plastic recycling line is configured around the material, not around the machine. Bulk density determines the feeding system, wall thickness determines blade geometry, and the target output size determines how many stages the line needs. The ten material families on this page cover the plastics Zhiyi Machine equipment is most often specified for, together with the machine chain and output range that suits each one.
Four material properties decide most of the specification. Reading them in the right order avoids the common mistake of choosing a machine by throughput alone, then discovering it cannot feed the material the plant actually processes.
Rigid regrind and pelletised material flow into a hopper under gravity. Film, woven bags and raffia have very low bulk density and bridge above the rotor instead of settling into it, which is why they need a hydraulic ram with compaction or a forced-feed arrangement. A line sized for rigid plastic will reach its volume limit long before its weight limit when fed with film.
Thin, brittle material cuts cleanly on a flat blade. Thick sections, pipes and solid purgings need a claw or hook blade that grips and pulls the material into the cut, because a flat blade tends to bounce off a thick section rather than shear it. This is the difference between the ZPC universal range and the ZPC-HD heavy duty range.
Unfilled polyolefins are relatively gentle on tooling. Glass-filled grades, WPC and SPC composites, and material with mineral fillers wear blades considerably faster and increase the load on the drive. These materials push the specification toward heavier motors and more frequent blade servicing, not toward a larger screen opening.
If the recyclate returns to an injection moulding machine or an extruder feed, 6–20 mm regrind is the endpoint. If it feeds a rotational moulding machine, a WPC extrusion line or a masterbatch compounder, the endpoint is powder and a pulverizing stage is added. Pulverizers accept feed no larger than 10 mm, which is why they always sit downstream of a crusher and never replace one.
| Material family | Typical form | Recommended line | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| HDPE — pipes, drums, containers | Rigid, thick-walled | ZSS shredder → ZPC-HD crusher | 40–100 mm → 8–20 mm |
| PE / LDPE / LLDPE film | Film, very low bulk density | ZSS shredder → ZPC granulator | 40–100 mm → 6–20 mm |
| PP — woven bags, mouldings, packaging | Mixed rigid and woven | ZSS or ZDS shredder → ZPC granulator | 40–120 mm → 6–20 mm |
| PVC — pipes, profiles, flooring | Rigid, abrasive | ZSS shredder → ZPC-HD crusher → MPD pulverizer | 8–20 mm → 60–150 mesh |
| PET — bottles, sheet | Rigid, thin-walled | ZPC granulator (ZSS first if baled) | 6–20 mm |
| PS / ABS / PC — appliance and electronic housings | Rigid, mixed | ZDS-HD shredder → ZPC-HD crusher | 40–150 mm → 8–20 mm |
| PE rotomoulding feedstock | Regrind to powder | ZPC crusher → MF pulverizer | 6–20 mm → 10–120 mesh |
| WPC / SPC composites | Rigid, highly abrasive | ZSS shredder → ZPC-HD crusher → MPD pulverizer | 8–20 mm → 60–150 mesh |
| Mixed and contaminated plastic | Mixed, some non-plastic content | ZDS-HD double shaft shredder | 40–150 mm |
| Purgings, lumps and start-up blocks | Solid, irregular | ZSS single shaft shredder | 40–100 mm |
The left column describes what the material is; the third column describes the machine chain that handles it. Two materials with the same weight per hour can require different chains, which is why the material form is listed before the configuration rather than instead of it.
Thick walls and long sections make this a shredding-first material. A single shaft shredder with hydraulic ram feeding reduces full sections to manageable flake; the crusher then brings the flake down to regrind for extrusion. Running pipe directly through a granulator is not practical because the sections are too long to feed and too thick for a flat blade.
Film is the material that most often exposes an under-specified line. Bulk density is very low, so a shredder reaches its volume limit well before its weight limit. Shredding first, then granulating, keeps the crusher fed with a consistent flake instead of tangled film. Throughput is quoted separately for film and is always lower than for rigid regrind on the same machine.
Woven and raffia material behaves partly like film and partly like rigid plastic, depending on how it is baled and how much contamination it carries. A shredder handles the bales; the crusher produces regrind. If the stream is consistent enough, a combo shredder can cover both rigid and woven feedstock without a separate stage.
PVC is denser and more abrasive than polyolefins, and it generates more heat during size reduction. The heavier crusher range with claw blades handles the sections, and a disc pulverizer with water and air cooling produces the 60–150 mesh powder used in pipe and profile extrusion. Cooling capacity should be specified against the hardest material the plant runs, not the average.
Thin-walled PET cuts quickly, so a granulator alone is often sufficient. Baled material is shredded first because the bale cannot be fed directly. PET also produces fines that need to be managed, and the screen selection has a noticeable effect on the balance between throughput and regrind quality.
Appliance and electronic housings arrive as complete mouldings with metal inserts, screws and labels. A double shaft shredder tolerates this mixed feedstock better than a single shaft machine, and the crusher that follows produces the regrind. Metal content in the stream accelerates blade wear and should be assessed before the blade specification is fixed.
Rotational moulding requires powder, not granulate, so the line ends with a pulverizer rather than a crusher. The MF series is configured around this application and adds a vibration screen classifier, because particle size distribution affects how evenly the charge melts on the mould wall. Feed to the pulverizer is 10 mm or smaller, which the preceding crusher produces.
Wood-plastic and stone-plastic composites combine a plastic matrix with a hard filler, which makes them significantly more abrasive than unfilled plastic. They follow the same shredding, crushing and pulverizing chain as PVC but with a heavier duty crusher and closer attention to blade wear. Fines and dust also need collection, because the filler fraction is fine and does not settle.
Streams that arrive mixed, or that carry soil, metal, or film mixed with rigids, are handled by the double shaft range. Two counter-rotating shafts with hook blades tolerate irregular feed better than a single rotor with a screen, at the cost of coarser and less uniform output. A double shaft shredder is often the first stage of a line that serves several material streams.
Purgings are dense, irregular and often very thick — the classic material that stalls a machine sized by catalogue throughput. A single shaft shredder with high torque and hydraulic ram feeding reduces them to flake. Screen selection controls the flake size that the downstream crusher receives.
Zhiyi Machine equipment is also used on materials outside plastics: cardboard and paper cores, plastic-and-metal drums, scrap metal, waste wood, fibre-reinforced composite, leather and textile offcuts, and bulky municipal waste. These streams are handled on a case-by-case basis, because the machine specification depends on strength, abrasion and contamination rather than on a standard configuration.
We do not publish fixed configurations for medical waste, hazardous waste or animal carcass processing. Those applications are subject to regional regulation that governs the entire installation, not only the shredder, and specifications are developed with the customer's own regulatory adviser rather than from a catalogue. If your material is outside plastics, describe it and we will say whether it is a good fit rather than accept an order the equipment cannot serve.
Send the material, its form and the output size your next process needs. Three inputs are enough to say whether a shredding, crushing or pulverizing stage is required, and which model in each range applies. If a specification already exists, we will review it against the material rather than replace it by default.
For deeper guidance, see choosing a shredder for HDPE, PP and PVC, choosing a pulverizer for PVC, PE and WPC, and the difference between shredding and crushing.
Identify the polymer first (PE, PP, PVC, PET, PS, ABS, PC) and then the form it arrives in — pipe, film, bale, moulding or lump. The polymer determines the wear and heat behaviour, and the form determines the feeding system and blade geometry. Both matter, but the form usually changes the specification more.
Mechanically yes, within limits. Shredding and crushing stages handle a wider range of plastics than pulverizing stages do, because grinding is sensitive to hardness and heat generation. A line that switches between materials should be specified for the hardest and most abrasive one it will run, not the most common.
Because throughput is limited by volume rather than weight for low-bulk-density material. Film occupies far more space per kilogram, so the cutting chamber fills before the motor reaches its rated load. This is a physical limit of the feeding system, not a machine defect, and it is why film figures are quoted separately.
Only if your customer's process requires powder. Pipe and profile extrusion lines usually buy regrind; rotomoulding, masterbatch and some coating processes require powder. If your buyers accept 6–20 mm regrind, the line ends at the crusher and the pulverizer is not needed.
Substantially. Metal, sand and glass accelerate blade wear, and mixed streams feed irregularly. Contaminated feedstock generally points toward a double shaft shredder with greater tolerance for irregular items, and toward a blade specification that accepts more frequent servicing. Washing upstream changes the picture again.
In several cases yes — cardboard, waste wood, composite and bulky waste are regularly handled by shredders. Medical waste, hazardous waste and animal carcass processing are regulated installations and are quoted case by case with the customer's regulatory adviser. Send the material details and we will confirm whether it is a good fit.
Send us details about your waste stream — our engineering team will recommend the optimal machine configuration and provide a tailored quotation.
Request a Consultation