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Plastic Granulator Selection Guide: Key Features, Types, and Performance Tips

Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2025-11-27 Origin: Site

A plastic granulator operating in an industrial recycling environment.

In plastic molding and recycling operations, a Plastic Granulator is an essential piece of equipment for reducing material waste and improving production efficiency. However, in real factory conditions, issues frequently occur, such as scrap buildup, flying hollow parts, difficulty handling bulky purgings, excessive noise, and short blade lifespan.

This guide systematically explains how to choose the right Plastic Granulator for your application, helping you to:

· Control material loss — achieve clean, stable, continuous recycling and reduce waste.

· Optimize production operations — enhance productivity and process continuity from the source, strengthening overall competitiveness.

1. What Is a Plastic Granulator and How It Works

Plastic Granulator is a core piece of equipment in the plastic recycling and processing industry. Also referred to as a Plastic Crusher, it precisely cuts and shears runners, defective parts, and edge trim into clean, uniform regrind granules. These granules can be reused directly as raw material, enabling a closed-loop recycling process and significantly reducing raw material costs.

2. Types of Plastic Granulators: Centralized vs. Beside-the-Press Solutions

According to application scenarios, plastic granulators are mainly divided into two types:

2.1Centralized Plastic Granulator

Centralized plastic granulators, also known as centralized crushers, serve as the core equipment for concentrated plastic waste processing.

In the injection molding industry, 3 main application modes exist to meet different production scale requirements:

Manual Centralized Processing Mode

This model is commonly used by small to medium-sized injection molding plants. Operators regularly collect waste materials, such as sprues and defective products, from each machine and transport them to a central crushing area (typically equipped with one or more centralized granulators) for unified processing.

The system relies mainly on manual operation, requires low equipment investment, and features a simple, straightforward process, making it a practical and economical recycling solution for plants with limited production scale.

Semi-Automatic Centralized Recycling System

An upgraded solution suitable for medium to large-scale production. The system uses conveyor belts or manual labor to collect waste materials from each machine and transport them to the central crushing zone. Qualified crushed materials are then directly conveyed to the storage silo through an Granulating auto collecting System.

For recycled materials requiring higher cleanliness, companies can optionally equip Auto powder sifting Devices for the centralized granulators as needed.

Fully Automatic Integrated Central Feeding System

Designed for modern smart factories. The Plastic Granulator is fully integrated into a centralized feeding system:

· Regrind is precisely filtered through a screening device.

· Clean granules are automatically blended with virgin material in preset ratios via a weighing mixer.

· Material is delivered through pipelines to each production machine.

This solution ensures precise material ratios, stable quality, and enhanced production efficiency, representing the advanced level of industrial plastic recycling.

These 3 modes objectively reflect the mainstream solutions adopted by the injection molding industry at different development stages. Companies can flexibly choose according to production capacity, budget, and automation needs.

2.2 Beside-the-Press Plastic Granulator

Beside-the-Press Plastic Granulator is installed directly beside injection or extrusion machines, ensuring low-speed, quiet operation with minimal dust. It is specifically designed for the immediate recycling of clean scrap, such as runners and gates, directly on the production line.

Benefits:

· Reduces material handling

· Maintains a clean workshop environment

· Enables direct reuse of material, improving production efficiency at the source

3. How to Choose the Right Plastic Granulator?

Understanding granulator types is only the foundation — knowing your scrap characteristics is the key to proper selection. Use the table below to identify the optimal solution for your recycling needs:

Application Scenario	Common Scrap Type	images	Selection Requirement	XIECHENG Solution
Hard Lumpy Scrap	Large sprues, high-hardness materials (e.g., engineering plastics), and large rubber pieces		Tough, hard materials cause significant tool wear and strong impact during crushing, requiring a highly robust core structure.	GY Claw Type Plastic Crusher
Hollow Containers	Hollow plastic containers, such as square or round PC/PET blow-molded barrels and bottles		Light, bulky materials tend to bounce in the chamber, making them difficult to handle; special cutter head and feeding designs are required.	GB Plastic Bottle Crusher
Beside Injection Machine	Injection molding heads, sprues (gates), runners, small defective parts, and other production scrap		Equipment must be placed next to the injection molding machine for quiet, clean, automated, and reliable online recycling that matches the production cycle.	GO Screenless low speed granulator GM Medium Speed Online Plastic Granulator GS Low Speed Online Granulator
Films & Soft Materials	PE, PP, and other plastic films, flexible packaging materials, fibers, and leather		Soft, stretchable materials easily entangle with the rotor and cutting tools, leading to frequent stops. Excellent anti-entanglement and continuous shearing capabilities are essential.	GV V Type Plastic Crusher
Sheets, Pipes & Profiles	Standard sheets, pipes, profiles, plates, packaging materials, and plastic sprues		Materials with regular shapes but varying size and hardness require balanced, continuous cutting forces for efficient processing, stable operation, and low powder generation.	GP Flake Type Plastic Crusher
Blow-Molded & Thin-Wall Parts	Blow-molded parts, sprue scraps, and thin-walled products		Thin-walled, irregular, lightweight materials tend to drift or accumulate in the chamber, necessitating a wide, stable cutting surface for fast, uniform crushing.	GD Flat Type Plastic Crusher

Note: GY Claw Type Granulator is versatile, handling most common plastic products and sprues, making it ideal for basic crushing needs in standard injection molding plants.

4. Advantages of XIECHENG Plastic Granulators in Industrial Recycling

Choosing XIECHENGmeans choosing reliable, high-efficiency solutions. Key advantages include:

· Core Cutting Technology:All Plastic Granulators in the series use high-strength alloy tool steel blades and scientifically designed blade holders and rotors, ensuring the longest service life and highest shredding efficiency in their respective applications.

· Intelligent and Energy-Saving: The GO series is equipped with a microcomputer control system featuring automatic jam recovery and timed on/off functions. Additionally, the entire series can optionally be fitted with an Adaptive Intelligent Energy-Saving Granulator Control System, achieving 20%–40% energy savings under the same operating conditions.

· Quiet and Eco-Friendly Design: All models can be upgraded to Soundproof Granulator With Collector, with a fully enclosed soundproof body and vibration damping devices. Operational noise is effectively controlled, creating a green and compliant working environment.

· Superior Safety and Easy Maintenance: Equipment includes multiple protections such as overload, phase loss, and limit switches.

Selecting the right Plastic Granulator is the most critical step in improving recycling profitability. With years of professional expertise, XIECHENG supports your optimal selection. Start optimizing your recycling process today.

Contact us for immediate consultation.