Kobra Cyclone

The Kobra Cyclone is an industrial shredder built around a rotary cutting chamber and interchangeable screens, so a single machine can be set anywhere from roughly P-2 to P-5 under DIN 66399. It takes up to 500 sheets at a time and handles cardboard, plastic bottles and aluminum cans along with paper, cards and optical media. It suits recycling and waste operators, distribution centers and service bureaus with mixed, high-volume destruction work.

Kobra Cyclone at a glance

• Interchangeable screens CX-002 to CX-006; security level depends on the screen fitted
• Batch loading of up to 500 sheets
• Paper throughput up to 420 kg/hour
• Accepts cardboard, plastic bottles and aluminum cans
• 6 kW (8 hp) three-phase drive with integrated dust extraction

One chassis, several security levels

A conventional shredder's security level is fixed by its cutters. On the Cyclone, material circulates in the chamber until the pieces are small enough to fall through the screen, so the screen sets the level. Kobra maps the 002, 003 and 004 screens to approximately P-2, P-2/P-3 and P-4, and finer screens extend the range to P-5. Screens are ordered separately and can be changed by the user, which means a new contract or policy calls for a new screen, not a new machine. Finer screens lower throughput because the material stays in the chamber longer. Specify the screen you need when ordering and record which one is fitted, since your certificates depend on it.

Materials beyond paper

Few shredders accept a drink can. Kobra lists paper, cardboard, credit and chip cards, CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray, floppy disks, plastic bottles and aluminum cans for the Cyclone. On the same chassis Kobra quotes up to 45,000 credit cards, 15,000 optical discs or 7,000 floppy disks per hour. It is not a general metal shredder; steel parts or tools will damage it.

Throughput figures and site requirements

Kobra rates paper throughput at up to 420 kg per hour; the US listing converts this to approx. 490 lb per hour, which does not match the metric figure, so confirm the rate with Kobra if it drives your purchase. The 500-sheet figure is a batch size, not sheets per pass through a slot. A closed, vented chamber controls dust. The US model needs 208 V three-phase power at 50 A per phase. At 970 lb, 85 in deep and 75–85 dB(A), it belongs in a warehouse or destruction room. Bags are not included; the chamber holds 400 liters.

Kobra Cyclone specifications

Cyclone or another Kobra?

• Kobra Cyclone HS6: the same chassis with the 006 screen at approximately P-7, for requirements above P-5; slower and with a narrower material list.
• Kobra 430 TS models: conveyor-fed paper shredders for high volume at one fixed level.
• Kobra 400 C4: the sensible choice for an office department needing P-4.
• Kobra Flexpack: if the aim is turning boxes into packing material rather than destroying them.

Who should buy the Cyclone

It makes sense where destruction is mixed and industrial, or where clients demand different security levels from one machine. It does not belong in an office: the noise, size and three-phase supply rule that out, and a document shredder is the better tool there.