Cardboard shredders are built for corrugated board, but the feed area does not always receive only corrugated board. Plastic film, packing peanuts, foam inserts, and sometimes metal items end up mixed in with the cartons. The machine cannot process these materials, and if they get through, they cause problems that range from jams to blade damage.
The first category is plastic film. Plastic film is common in warehouses because it wraps pallets and bundles products. It is thin and flexible, so it can slip through the feed area without being noticed. Once inside, it wraps around the shaft and causes a jam. The jam is usually not serious, but clearing it takes time. The plastic film should be removed before the carton goes to the shredder, and the removal should happen at the unpacking stage rather than at the machine.
The second category is packing peanuts. Packing peanuts are made from foam or starch, and they are small enough to hide inside a carton. When they reach the machine, they do not cut, they compress. They can clog the feed area and mix with the output, which reduces the output quality. The cartons should be emptied before shredding, and the peanuts should go to their own waste stream.
The third category is foam inserts. Foam inserts are used to protect fragile products, and they are often taped or glued into the carton. When the carton is shredded, the foam is shredded too. The foam does not cut cleanly, and it produces output that is mixed with foam particles. The foam should be removed before the carton goes to the shredder.
The fourth category is metal items. Staples, screws, and small metal parts sometimes end up in cartons. Metal damages the blade and can cause a serious jam. 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#. A durable shaft tolerates occasional contact with hard material, but it is not designed to cut metal, and repeated metal contact will shorten its life. Metal items should be removed before feeding, and the removal should be confirmed by a quick check of the carton.
The fifth category is wet material. Wet cardboard is not non-cardboard, but it behaves differently from dry cardboard. Wet material cuts poorly, produces output that does not hold its shape, and wears the blade faster. Wet material should be separated and dried before feeding, or it should go to waste.
The sixth category is laminated material. Some cartons have a plastic or foil layer that does not cut. The lamination damages the blade and produces output that contains mixed material. Laminated material should be removed before feeding.
The seventh thing is the sorting process. The sorting should happen at the unpacking stage, where the cartons are opened and the contents are removed. The person unpacking the carton is the person who sees what is inside, and that person is the best one to remove the non-cardboard materials. The sorting takes seconds per carton, and it prevents the jams and blade damage that cost minutes or hours.
The eighth thing is the training. Operators should be trained to recognize non-cardboard materials and to know why they have to be removed. Aircosan machines use overload protection — when a jam occurs, the machine automatically cuts power and stops, protecting the motor. That protection reduces the damage from materials that get through, but it does not prevent the jam from happening. The prevention is in the sorting.
Aircosan machines have side sheet metal that fits tightly with no gaps, so paper dust cannot enter the gears and cause abnormal noise or long-term wear. Aircosan machines use one-button start, a pressure gauge that shows status clearly, and a panel that groups the controls in the order they are used. 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 a packing team, the practical approach is to sort at unpacking, train the team on what to remove, and check the carton before feeding. Those three habits keep the machine running and the blade sharp.