Zdrobire PVC sheets, rigid boards, and plastic trays is a different job from crushing bottles or pipe. Flat stock is wide, stiff, and awkward: a 1.2 m sheet will not fall through a vertical hopper, trays bridge across narrow openings, and WPC boards carry mineral filler that eats standard blades. This guide explains how flat rigid stock behaves in a crusher, why a horizontal feed design fits it, what output size to target, and how to size the machine to your widest board.
Why Flat Stock Defeats a Standard Top-Feed Crusher
A conventional granulator is fed from above: material drops through a vertical hopper onto the rotor. That works for bottles, sprues, and small molded parts — anything that falls freely. Sheets and trays do not fall freely:
- Bridging. Flat pieces lay across the hopper throat and hang there while the rotor spins underneath. Operators end up pushing material in, which is exactly what a crusher’s safety design should never invite.
- Width limits. A sheet wider than the hopper opening has to be pre-cut with a saw — slow, dusty, and a labor cost on every single board.
- Uncontrolled grabbing. When a large stiff sheet finally does catch, the rotor takes a big uncontrolled bite, spiking the motor load.
A concasor orizontal turns the geometry sideways: material loads flat along a low horizontal path, by hand or conveyor, and feeding is controlled into the rotor. Wide sheets, trays, profiles, purgings, and even plastic pallets enter in their natural orientation — no pre-cutting for stock that fits the feed opening, no bridging, no climbing to a high hopper.
How the Materials Behave: PVC, WPC/SPC, and Thermoformed Trays
Flat rigid stock covers several polymer families, and each brings its own handling note:
- Rigid PVC sheet and profiles. Crush cleanly at controlled feed rates, but PVC is heat-sensitive — an overloaded, hot cutting chamber discolors the regrind and dulls its value. Steady horizontal feeding keeps chamber temperature down.
- PVC foam sheets (integral foam and free-foam). Common in signage and construction, at densities of roughly 0.45–1.05 g/cm³ versus 1.4+ for rigid PVC. They cut easily, but throughput is volume-limited: at half the density, the same rotor moves half the kilograms per hour. Always quote and compare foam-sheet capacity in kg/h at the stated density, not against rigid-sheet figures.
- WPC and SPC boards (decking, flooring, wall panels). The wood flour and mineral core are abrasive. Standard blade steel wears fast; specify wear-resistant knives for filled boards — available as an optional package on the horizontal crusher — and plan tighter knife-gap inspection intervals.
- PP and PET thermoformed trays. Light and springy rather than tough. The challenge is bulk, not cutting force: trays bridge in vertical hoppers but feed flat without complaint on a horizontal path.
- PS and ABS sheet. Brittle materials that crush easily but generate more fines — a slightly larger screen with a second granulation pass often gives cleaner regrind than forcing a fine screen in one step. For dust handling, see our guide on controlling dust and noise in rigid PVC recycling.
The Crushing Sequence, Step by Step
- Load flat. Sheets, boards, or stacked trays go onto the horizontal feed path by hand or conveyor — loading height stays low, which matters for manual feeding all shift.
- Controlled feed. The feed system meters material into the cutting chamber so the rotor takes consistent bites instead of one uncontrolled grab, keeping motor load stable.
- Cut against fixed knives. Rotor knives shear the stock against stationary counter-knives — clean cutting, not impact smashing, which limits fines and heat.
- Screen to size. Regrind recirculates until it passes the screen. Swapping the screen changes output size without touching the rotor.
What Output Size Should You Target?
Match the screen to the regrind’s destination, not to habit:
- 10–15 mm — feeding extrusion or pelletizing directly; small enough for stable feeding, large enough to limit fines.
- 15–25 mm — going into a washing line, where a coarser flake washes and dewaters well.
- 25 mm+ — pure volume reduction for storage or transport, with final granulation done later.
Fine screens cost throughput on thick boards: if you need small regrind from 20 mm+ stock, a coarse first pass plus a second granulation stage usually beats forcing one machine to do both. Our ghidul tipurilor de concasoare din plastic covers when to split the job.
Sizing the Machine: Start from Your Widest Board
Rotor length is the width limit for flat feeding, so the largest sheet you process sets the machine — not the average one. Feed opening width is built to order: the three models below are reference configurations, and the rotor length scales to your sheet width.
| Model | Rotor (dia × length) | Motor | Debit | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ECH-800 | 450 × 800 mm | 22–37 kW | 300–600 kg/h | Trays, narrow sheet, profiles |
| ECH-1200 | 500 × 1,200 mm | 37–55 kW | 500–1,000 kg/h | Standard sheet and board widths |
| ECH-1500 | 560 × 1,500 mm | 55–75 kW | 800–1,500 kg/h | Full-width panels, pallets, high volume |
Sheet stock in signage and construction runs up to 2 m and beyond, and pre-cutting every board defeats the purpose of horizontal feeding. That is why the feed opening is not a fixed catalog limit: state your maximum sheet width in the RFQ — 1,800 mm, 2,100 mm, or wider — and the rotor length and motor class are configured around it as standard practice.
Five inputs lock the specification: polymer and product type; maximum length, width, thickness, and piece weight; filler or reinforcement content; required hourly rate; and the output size your downstream process needs. Send those with your RFQ and the quote will match reality instead of a catalog average.
Horizontal or Vertical? Pick by Feed Shape
The horizontal crusher earns its place on wide, flat, bulky feed. For long round stock — pipes and extruded profiles fed end-first — a vertical PVC pipe crusher is the better geometry. And where boards arrive dirty, a wet crusher combines crushing with a first rinse in the same pass. Feed shape decides the machine; material only decides the blades and screen.
Întrebări frecvente
Can the feed opening be made wider for large sheets?
Yes — feed width is customizable as standard. The listed models are reference sizes; for sheets of 2 m and wider, the rotor length and feed opening are built to your maximum sheet width, with the motor class scaled to match. No pre-cutting is needed for stock that fits the configured opening.
Can a horizontal crusher handle WPC and SPC flooring?
Yes — WPC and SPC boards are core applications, but their wood-flour and mineral fillers are abrasive. Specify the wear-resistant knife package and inspect the knife gap more frequently than with unfilled PVC; that keeps output size stable and avoids unplanned blade changes.
Do PVC sheets need pre-cutting before crushing?
Not if the sheet fits the feed opening. Horizontal loading takes sheets up to the rotor length — 800 to 1,500 mm depending on model — in their natural flat orientation. Only stock wider than the feed path needs a single trim cut first, versus saw-cutting every board for a top-feed machine.
What regrind size do plastic trays crush down to?
The screen sets it, typically 10–25 mm. For trays feeding a washing line, 15–25 mm flake works well; for direct extrusion, 10–15 mm feeds more stably. Screens swap without removing the rotor.
Can sheets be crushed with the protective film still on?
Yes. The thin PE protective film on new PVC sheet does not need to be stripped before crushing — it shreds along with the sheet. The film fragments end up in the regrind, which is normally acceptable when the material returns to your own extrusion; if the regrind is sold to a purity spec, state the film content to the buyer or remove film upstream.
Why does my PVC regrind discolor during crushing?
Heat. PVC degrades and yellows when the cutting chamber runs hot — usually from overfeeding, dull knives, or a blocked screen. Controlled feeding, a maintained knife gap, and a correctly sized screen keep chamber temperature down and the regrind bright.
Get a Crusher Sized to Your Boards
Send us your material (PVC sheet, WPC/SPC board, trays, or mixed rigid stock), the maximum board dimensions, and your target rate. We will confirm whether the plastic tray & PVC sheet horizontal crusher fits — and which model, knives, and screen your feedstock actually needs. Contact our engineering team for a configured quote.
