Industrial parts are a packaging category that general guides rarely cover well. A machined component, a gearbox, a bearing assembly, a pump housing. These items are heavy, often irregular, and expensive to replace. Many of them have finished surfaces that cannot be scratched, and some have precise tolerances that a single impact can ruin. Most operations solve this with foam, custom crates, and plastic wrapping, all of which work but cost money every month and take up storage space. A cardboard shredder offers a different approach, and for industrial parts, the output type and thickness capacity matter more than almost anything else.
Start with the material. Heavy components need cushioning that absorbs shock without compressing flat under load. Mesh output, produced by a perforating machine, works well here because the three-dimensional lattice distributes force across a wider area. 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 thicker structure. That structure fills voids in the crate and prevents parts from shifting. Strip output serves the other half of the job. Strips wrap edges, separate stacked components, and protect finished surfaces from contact. For a bearing assembly sitting in a crate, strips around the base and mesh on top covers both needs.
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 an industrial operation packing a mix of heavy and light components, that flexibility removes the need for two machines.
Machine selection depends on part 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 packing large components or using 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 even more for industrial parts. 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, and in industrial packing that failure happens fast because the board tends to be thick.
Cleanliness matters for industrial parts because residue causes problems. 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 finished surfaces. For components that will be assembled into machines, 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. Industrial crates often contain staples and strapping, so a quick check at the feed area saves blade wear. 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 industrial packing is usually strong, because the cost of a damaged component is high. 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 wrapping 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 industrial 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 an industrial operation, the practical approach is to decide whether mesh, strips, or both fit the components being packed, measure the largest common crate, note the thickest board, and confirm available power. Once those answers are clear, the machine selection becomes straightforward.