Sheartak Spiral Cutterhead with 900 Inserts: Perfect for Cutting EPS/XPS Insulation Material

You probably never noticed it, but extruded polystyrene (XPS) is everywhere. It is inside walls, beneath floors, under airport runways, around pipes, used in cold storage (even your beer cooler), inside surfboards, and many more. It’s a key material in many everyday applications you rely on. But what makes XPS so effective in these applications, and how is it made? In this blog, we’ll take a closer look at XPS—what it is, how it’s produced, and explore Sheartak’s 900 carbide inserts spiral cutterhead designed for efficiently surfacing this material.

What is XPS and How is it Made?

Extruded polystyrene (XPS) is a rigid foam insulation material known for its excellent thermal resistance, moisture resistance, and durability. That is why it is so valuable, its versatility allows it to be used in various applications, from commercial products to large-scale infrastructure projects. It keeps your home insulated, ensures the durability of airport runways in extreme weather conditions, waterproofs structures against moisture and the list goes on.

The way it is made is in its name! Extruded => Extrusion. XPS is manufactured through a continuous process of extrusion (extruding line), where polystyrene pellets are melted and combined with blowing agents to create a foam that expands and forms a closed-cell structure. The production process involves precise control of temperature and pressure to ensure a uniform density and consistency throughout the material.

After the board has cooled from the extrusion process, it goes through surfacing, cutting, form shaping, and polishing process to achieve the desired shape, size, profile and finish.

Sheartak 900-Inserts Spiral Cutterhead for XPS board surfacing

To surface the XPS, most production lines still use arrays of saw blades or the traditional straight blade cutterheads. Saw blades wear out quickly and replacing one requires removing the entire array from the machine. As a result, this leads to unproductive production lines as dismantling and setting it back up is time consuming. Furthermore, the carbide tips of the saw blade are harsh. Instead of providing a smooth cut, it hammers against the board and often results in material being scooped off. Consequently, it leaves the XPS boards with a poor surface.

Sheartak's spiral cutterhead effortlessly slices through materials, providing exceptionally smooth cuts with no tear-out on EPS/XPS boards. It is far more durable, maintaining its sharpness 12 times longer than traditional saw blade tips. Each insert features four cutting edges—simply loosen, rotate 90 degrees, tighten, and it's ready to cut again. This eliminates the need to disassemble the machine, significantly boosting productivity. The custom-sized spiral cutterhead we built for our client boasts an impressive 18 spirals and 900 carbide inserts, with a cutting length of 1.26 meters.

At Sheartak, we continuously seek ways to enhance surfacing and cutting quality while optimizing efficiency and value. Our innovations are designed to deliver cleaner cuts, longer-lasting performance, and solutions that reduce downtime—ensuring top-notch results and increased productivity.

If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to reach out to us at sales@sheartak.com. We also accept custom orders, and your satisfaction is guaranteed.