Glass and ceramic are the hardest categories to ship safely. A single impact can crack a pane, chip a rim, or shatter a vase, and replacement costs are high. Packaging for these products has to do three things at once: absorb shock, prevent movement, and avoid scratching surfaces. Most operations solve this with foam, molded inserts, and plastic air pillows, all of which work but cost money every month and generate waste. A cardboard shredder offers a different approach, and for glass and ceramic shippers, the output type matters more than anything else.
Start with the material itself. Glass and ceramic need cushioning that conforms to curved surfaces without creating pressure points. Mesh output, produced by a perforating machine, does this well. The machine cuts a regular pattern into corrugated cardboard, and because the board has a fluted layer between two liners, it can be pulled open into a three-dimensional lattice. That lattice is thicker than the original board, which is where the cushioning comes from. It absorbs impact and fills voids, and it can be layered around curved shapes. For vases, bowls, and ceramic ornaments, mesh is usually the better choice.
Strip output serves a different purpose. A strip-cut machine produces long, narrow strips with high density and strength that are easy to control. Strips wrap flat surfaces, separate stacked items, and line box edges. For flat glass panes, strips along the edges and between panes prevent contact and reduce the risk of chipping. For plates and tiles, strips between layers keep spacing consistent. For a glass and ceramic operation that ships both flat and curved items, having both outputs available is practical.
Some machines cover both. The P50-X uses two sets of cutter shafts to produce honeycomb mesh and strips at the same time. The P50-3 shreds a 550mm board into three equal pieces in one pass, with customizable cut width and quantity, and this function can be applied across the entire Aircosan range. For a workstation packing a mix of glass and ceramic, that flexibility removes the need for a second machine.
Machine selection depends on box size and volume. Desktop models cover 350mm, 450mm, and 550mm cutting widths at 10 m/min and up to 10mm thickness, with a ZD brand geared motor rated for 8 to 10 hours of continuous work. Industrial floor-standing models start at 550mm and reach 900mm and 1200mm, with cutting thickness up to 15mm or 20mm and speeds up to 18 m/min with variable frequency control. The 1200mm model matters for operations handling large flat glass or wide crates, because it removes a pre-cutting step from every box. Producing shafts above 500mm is a genuine technical barrier, and Aircosan produces 550mm desktop shafts stably while reaching 1200mm on floor-standing models, a width essentially no peer on the market produces.
Thickness matters too. A single sheet of seven-layer cardboard on the market is generally within 9mm, and a seven-layer box is generally within 20mm total thickness. The P50 handles single sheets up to 15mm at 18 m/min. The P80 handles up to 20mm and can take a whole box without separating it into single sheets, which saves labor on operations that handle boxes all day. The P90 and P120 also handle 20mm and take two sheets directly. One practical note: P50, P50-3, P50-X, and P80 support single-phase 110V or 220V as well as three-phase 380V. P90 and P120 support only three-phase 380V.
What determines how long the machine lasts is the cutter shaft. Aircosan shafts are large, one-piece units rather than thin blades, designed for a service life of over five years and processed through lathe machining, high-frequency treatment, quenching, blackening, and multiple other steps. The material is 40Cr rather than ordinary 45# steel. 40Cr has lower brittleness and stronger impact resistance, and its machining time is more than twice that of 45#. At the same 550mm width, Aircosan shafts are visibly larger and thicker than competing units and cost about 30% more, which shows in the overall machine weight. Some suppliers use thinner shafts that deform or break above 7mm.
Cleanliness matters for glass and ceramic because residue shows. The output from a cardboard shredder is dry and clean, with no plastic particles or foam dust. It does not create static, so it does not attract dust to surfaces. For glass that will be installed in architectural applications or ceramic that will be displayed, that matters more than it sounds.
Cardboard compatibility follows consistent rules. Most machines handle standard corrugated cardboard, including single-wall and some double-wall. Clean, dry cardboard cuts and expands best. Light tape and labels are fine, but staples, metal inserts, and reinforcing materials must be removed. Material that is too wet, heavily contaminated, or laminated hurts performance and wears the blades faster. Plastic, metal parts, thick laminates, and non-paper composites should never be processed.
Practical reliability details matter in daily use. Side sheet metal should fit tightly with no gaps, so paper dust cannot enter the gears and cause abnormal noise or long-term wear. Overload protection should cut power automatically when a jam occurs, protecting the motor. Machines without this can burn out a motor during a jam while the shaft is stopped. The machines use branded motors with ample power, so thick and hard cardboard feeds smoothly.
The financial case for glass and ceramic shippers is direct. Waste cardboard disposal is a hard cost in many countries, with fines for improper disposal and no payment for material delivered to collection points. Buying foam, molded inserts, and plastic pillows is a recurring cost. A machine that turns existing boxes into packaging material addresses both at once. The output is biodegradable packaging and degradable packing material, a practical alternative of plastic packing materials.
The regulatory backdrop adds urgency. On August 12, 2026, the core provisions of the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation fully entered into force, replacing a directive in use for nearly 30 years. Plastic bans are spreading, and for glass and ceramic exporters still using large amounts of plastic filler, switching to paper-based cushioning is a question of when rather than whether.
Aircosan runs its own parts processing factory, controlling part quality in-house rather than assembling from mixed outside sources. The company supports logo customization from one piece and color customization from ten pieces. Products carry CE, ROHS, and UKCA certifications and hold an exclusive EU patent. After-sales responds within 12 hours and connects customers directly with engineers.
For glass and ceramic shippers, the practical approach is to decide whether mesh, strips, or both fit the products being packed, measure the largest common box, note the thickest board, and confirm available power. Once those answers are clear, the machine selection becomes straightforward.