Patent ID: 7730817

Claim:
An apparatus for cutting ductile materials discharged from an outlet of a processing machine, said cutting apparatus comprising: a nozzle connectable to the outlet of the processing machine and having a plurality of outlet openings separated from each other by separator webs, each separator web having a first width; a cutting tool adapted to be driven to a rotational movement and having a plurality of cutting knives for cutting off material strands discharged through said outlet openings of said nozzle, each cutting knife having a second width; and drive means adapted to drive said cutting tool to an intermittent rotational movement in which the cutting knives are stopped for a predetermined period of time during a complete revolution before moving each of said cutting knives from a first position behind a first of said separator webs to a second position behind a second, adjacent separator web; said first width of said separator webs being at least equal to said second width of said cutting knives; and said drive means including a programmable motor/stepping gear box combination configured to permit adjustment of said predetermined time period between two intermittent rotational movements of the cutting tool and/or the cutting speed independent of the discharge rate of the material strands discharged through said outlet openings.