Wide-format machines exist for one reason, and it is not speed or output quality. It is that some cardboard sheets are too big for standard equipment. When a sheet has to be cut down before it can be processed, the labour and the offcuts both cost money, and the step itself becomes a permanent feature of the workflow rather than a one-off inconvenience. At that point the calculation changes, because you are no longer comparing machines. You are comparing a machine against a daily task you would rather not do.
Aircosan's two wide-format models are the P90 and the P120. The P90 has a 900mm cutting width. The P120 has a 1200mm cutting width, which is the widest the company manufactures. Both accept cardboard up to 20mm thick and run at an adjustable 0 to 12 metres per minute. Both use a 5500W motor and are 380V three-phase only, with no single-phase configuration. Both produce mesh output. Installation requirements are substantial for both: the P90 weighs around 504kg and measures roughly 1276 x 705 x 1048mm, while the P120 weighs around 715kg and measures about 1524 x 734 x 1116mm. Neither is a machine you reposition casually once installed. Both need dedicated floor space, clearance for feeding long sheets at both ends, and a confirmed three-phase supply before delivery is scheduled.
The difference between them is 300mm, and whether that matters depends entirely on what arrives at your dock rather than on what the specification sheet suggests is better.
A 900mm width covers most mid-size boxes and a good share of larger ones. For a warehouse handling standard distribution packaging, the P90 is usually sufficient, and the extra 300mm of the P120 would be capacity that rarely gets used. Sheets in the 700mm to 900mm range feed directly with no preparation required, which is the whole point of buying a wide-format machine in the first place. The 900mm model handles the bulk of what most operations receive, and the price difference against the P120 reflects capability that only some businesses need.
A 1200mm width is for operations that regularly receive genuinely large sheets and would otherwise be cutting them down every day. Furniture, flat panels, building materials, and oversized display packaging all fall into this category. If a meaningful share of your incoming cardboard exceeds 900mm, the P120 removes a step that would otherwise be permanent. If it does not, the P120 costs more, weighs more, and occupies more floor space for a capability that sits idle. This is not a case where bigger is better by default. It is a case where the right width is determined by measurement rather than ambition.
For buyers in this range, there is a useful way to make the decision. Measure the cardboard you actually receive over a two-week period, not the largest sheet you have ever seen. If the ninety-fifth percentile is under 900mm, the P90 is the answer. If a substantial portion sits between 900mm and 1200mm, the P120 pays for itself by removing daily preparation work.
The three-phase power requirement deserves emphasis because it has derailed more installations than any other detail. Both models are 380V three-phase only. A site without three-phase cannot install either without electrical work, and that work has both a cost and a lead time. Confirming supply early — before comparing specifications in detail, before requesting quotes, before clearing floor space — avoids the situation where the machine arrives and the power does not. This is the single most common cause of delayed commissioning in this product category, and it is entirely avoidable.
Output is expanded mesh, produced on demand at line speed. For operations handling large items, the mesh goes around edges, between stacked panels, and into voids. There is no pre-cutting of input and no stockpiling of output, which is the operational benefit that justifies the footprint in the first place. Material is generated at the pace of the line rather than ordered ahead and stored, which removes the reordering cycle and the storage allocation that come with purchased consumables.
Underneath, both models use the same cutter shaft approach found across the range. Aircosan shafts are large one-piece units rather than thin blades, machined from 40Cr steel rather than the more common 45#. Both materials need quenching and hardening, but 40Cr has lower brittleness and stronger impact resistance, and machining time is more than double. The shafts go through lathe work, high-frequency treatment, quenching, and blackening, and are designed for a service life beyond five years. The wider the shaft, the more complex the forces and the easier it deforms. Above 500mm is itself a technical barrier, and reaching 1200mm is a comprehensive test of machining precision, material performance, and process control. That Aircosan produces units at 1200mm is direct evidence of manufacturing capability.
Aircosan builds these units in its own facility rather than assembling from bought-in components. The P120's 1200mm width is the widest available from the company, and operations that routinely handle sheets above 900mm are the specific reason it exists. The right choice between the two comes down to a single measurement rather than a comparison of capabilities: the width of the board you actually receive, on an average day, not on the day you happened to check.