Used Strand Pelletizers for Sale
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Recently sold
SOLD1998 Rieter Automatik 100S
USA
SOLD1999 Rieter Automatik 100S
USA
SOLD1999 Rieter Automatik 100S
USA
SOLD1998 Cumberland 4INUTILIZE
USA
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About Used Strand Pelletizers
A strand pelletizer pulls cooled extruded strands into a rotor and cuts them against a bed knife into pellets. It is the cutter at the end of a strand line, after a water bath and before a dryer and a classifier. Pellet length is set by how far the strand advances between cuts. That distance is strand speed against rotor speed and the number of knives. A screen does not set it. A strand cutter and an extruded strand cutter are this machine. A plastic pelletizer, in the strand sense, is the same cutter. An underwater unit cuts at the die face in water and makes a different pellet. A full pelletizing line is the extruder, the die, the bath and the cutter sold together. This unit is only the cutter.
Strand count has to match the die. A rotor narrower than the fan of strands folds the outer ones and makes longs. Feed rolls have to grip wet strands without slipping, or length scatters even when rotor speed is right. The bed knife gap is cut quality. A maintenance note for this style of cutter puts a typical gap near 0.003 in, checked when the material changes. Too open, and the knife pushes, leaving tails and zipper cuts where the strand is only partly severed. Too tight, and the rotor rubs and heats. A helical rotor, on the order of a few degrees, spreads the cut so the drive is not shocked by every strand at once. The unguided distance from the feed rolls to the knives should stay short, or the strands wander. Strands that are still soft smear in the cut. Strands that carry a flood of water load the dryer afterward. MAAG dry-cut frames, the line that includes the former Rieter Automatik machines, change length with separate drives on the feed and the rotor. They bear the rotor on both sides when the cut has to stay square. Buy a strand pelletizer when the line already exists and the cutter is the piece that failed.
The cutter sits downstream of the extruder, bath ahead of it. A granulator is not a substitute. A granulator grinds scrap. This cutter turns a continuous strand into a product pellet. Keep the inlet square with the bath. A line that needs a person to start every strand by hand all day has a feed-path problem, not a shortage of motor horsepower.
Extrusion lines that are split send the cutter on without the extruder that fed it. On a used strand pelletizer, open the chamber and look at the bed knife, the rotor and the feed rolls before you look at the paint. Ask how many strands and what rotor width it last ran, and compare that with your die. A fresh coat of paint on a damaged knife is not a rebuilt cutter.
How to Choose a Used Strand Pelletizer
How to Size a Strand Pelletizer
Count the strands and the pounds per hour, then match rotor width and knife speed. A rotor that is wide enough for the die will still make longs if the feed rolls slip or the bath does not present the strands square. Pellet length is a ratio of line speed to cut speed. Write the length you sell and back into that ratio. The bed knife has to span the rotor you buy. Motor power follows rate and resin, and it will not fix a bad gap. If you need the extruder, the die, the bath and the cutter together, you are buying a pelletizing line and this unit is only the cutter. A modest frame is not a high-rate compounding plant.
Strand Pelletizer or a Pelletizing Line
The cutter is the rotor and the bed knife. A pelletizing line is the extruder, the die, the cooling, the cutter and the dryer sold as a system. Buy the strand pelletizer when you already have the line and the cutter is what failed or what you are adding. Buy the line when you are starting from an empty bay. Underwater pelletizing is another cutter style and it is not a strand machine with a different name. Do not send scrap parts through this rotor and expect regrind. That is a granulator. Keep the bath and the strand alignment in the same decision as the rotor, because the cutter cannot repair a tangled start. A strand cutter here is an extruded strand cutter.
Strand Pelletizer Specs to Compare
| Spec | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Rotor width | Has to cover the strand fan from the die, or outer strands fold and the cut becomes longs. |
| Strand count | The number the feed path and the rotor were run at, which has to match your die layout. |
| Pellet length | Set by the ratio of strand speed to rotor speed, so both drives have to be fully controllable. |
| Bed knife | Gap and condition decide tails and fines, and a chipped knife marks every pellet you ship. |
| Feed rolls | Have to grip wet strands without slipping, or length scatters even when the rotor itself is good. |
| Drive and voltage | Motor power and volts have to match the line, and a missing variable-speed drive limits pellet length control. |
Rotor width
Has to cover the strand fan from the die, or outer strands fold and the cut becomes longs.
Strand count
The number the feed path and the rotor were run at, which has to match your die layout.
Pellet length
Set by the ratio of strand speed to rotor speed, so both drives have to be fully controllable.
Bed knife
Gap and condition decide tails and fines, and a chipped knife marks every pellet you ship.
Feed rolls
Have to grip wet strands without slipping, or length scatters even when the rotor itself is good.
Drive and voltage
Motor power and volts have to match the line, and a missing variable-speed drive limits pellet length control.
What to Inspect on a Used Strand Pelletizer
Check the bed knife gap
A gap that is open makes tails, and a gap that rubs heats the cut and wears the rotor of the strand pelletizer.
Inspect rotor knives
Chipped or dull blades on a strand pelletizer mark pellets and raise fines no matter how steady the extruder is.
Watch the feed rolls
Worn rolls slip on wet strands, so pellet length scatters even when the rotor speed is correct.
Align the strand path
Strands that enter at an angle fold, and the strand pelletizer cannot straighten a bad bath exit.
Look at the water
Strands that are too hot smear in the cut, and strands that carry excess water load the dryer after the cutter.
Confirm strand count
Match the die you will run with the rotor width, or the outer strands never get a clean cut.
Read the drives
Line speed and rotor speed both have to be adjustable, or you cannot hold the pellet length you sell.
Related Equipment
- Pelletizing Lines
Extruder, die and cutter sold as one line
- Granulators
Scrap grinding, not a strand cut
- Desiccant Dryers
Dry hygroscopic pellets before they are molded
Strand Pelletizers Brands We've Sold
Common Applications
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I size a strand pelletizer for strand count and rate?
Match rotor width to the number of strands and the die layout, then match knife speed to the pellet length at your line speed. A strand pelletizer that is short on width folds the outer strands. Pounds per hour follow that geometry and the resin, and a larger motor will not fix a rotor that is too narrow. Feed rolls have to pull wet strands without slip. If you still need an extruder and a bath, you are buying a pelletizing line and this unit is only the cutter.
Strand pelletizer or an underwater pelletizing line?
This cutter takes strands that have already cooled in a bath. An underwater line cuts at the die face in water and is a different machine. A complete pelletizing line may be either approach. Choose the strand pelletizer when you have strands, a bath and a need for a cutter. Do not convert a strand rotor into an underwater unit. Do not send molded scrap through it. That scrap wants a granulator. The bath and the bed knife are the process.
What should I inspect on a used strand pelletizer?
Open the cut. Bed knife gap, rotor blades and feed rolls decide whether a strand pelletizer makes pellets or tails. Turn the rolls and look for flat spots. Check that strands can enter square from where your bath will sit. Read both drive speeds. Confirm voltage. Ask the strand count and rotor width the machine last ran, and compare that with your die. A fresh paint job on a chipped knife is not a rebuilt cutter. The 100S class is a modest machine. Do not assume a large compounding rate.
What sets pellet length on a strand pelletizer?
Strand speed into the cutter and the rotational speed of the knives. Faster strands or a slower rotor make a longer pellet. The strand pelletizer holds that ratio only if the feed rolls do not slip and both drives can be set. A fixed-speed motor locks you to one length at one line speed. Write the length you need and confirm both speeds exist before you buy. Gap does not set length. Gap sets whether the end of that pellet is clean.
Why does a strand pelletizer make longs and fines?
Longs are usually a missed strand, a slip at the feed roll or a gap that is too open so the knife pushes instead of cuts. Fines are a dull or chipped knife, a gap that rubs, or strands that are still soft. The strand pelletizer will not average those faults away. Align the bath, set the gap, and replace the bed knife before you blame the resin. A die that is running more strands than the rotor width will make longs forever. That is geometry, not a dull blade.
Does a strand pelletizer include the water bath?
Not by itself. A strand pelletizer is the cutter. The bath or trough that cools the strands, and the dryer after the cut, are separate pieces unless you bought a pelletizing line. Strands have to arrive cool and aimed. If the sale is only the rotor and the feed rolls, plan the bath. The extruder and the downstream travel together on a pelletizing line. Buy the cutter when the line already exists and the rotor is the missing machine.
