Machines and methods capable of producing diced products from a variety of materials. A stripper plate for such machines and methods has one or more slots sized to accommodate one or more circular knives of a circular cutter. The stripper plate has a base and an oppositely-disposed second surface. The slots are defined in the second surface and extend from the second surface to the base so as to define individual openings in the base. The slots are defined by multi-tiered walls so that the slots are wider at the openings thereof than in another portion of the slots.

A multilayer base is placed on a support. The multilayer base is cut by moving a cutting blade including an edge being linear through the multilayer base in a direction parallel to a surface of the support on which the multilayer base is placed. The cutting blade is moved with the edge inclined with respect to a moving direction of the cutting blade.

A tool for advancing and tensioning a strap of an erosion control system through an aperture of a retaining washer to provide hold down pressure to an erosion control mat is described. The tool has a foot member that is positioned atop the retaining washer and serves to hold it in place during the installation operation. An upright support bar extends above the foot member and a slide tensioning subassembly is mounted for sliding movement on the support bar. A clamp is carried on the slide tensioning subassembly for releasably grasping the strap. A handle is mounted on the upright support bar for up and down sliding movement and interconnected to the slide tensioning subassembly and the clamp so that downward movement of the handle closes the clamp to grasp the strap and pull the slide member upwardly to advance the strap through the washer.

A rotary knife assembly includes a rotatable core and a plurality of knife blades extending from the rotatable core. A heating element is coupled with the plurality of knife blades, and the heating element is configured to heat the knife blades. One or more package guides are interposed between each of the plurality of knife blades configured to engage along one or more deformable packages as the rotatable core is rotated. In another example, a discharge assembly includes a conveyor belt including inner and outer belt surfaces, and a plurality of belt rows extending along a belt length. A plurality of package spacing ridges each include outer engaging edges, and one package spacing ridge of the plurality is positioned between each of the plurality of belt rows. The outer belt surface is recessed from the outer engaging edges.

A device for cutting an aerial obstacle includes a mounting frame; an anchor point for attachment to a hoist; a cutter mounted to the mounting frame, the cutter having opposing cutting blades for engaging and cutting the obstacle when positioned therebetween; a power supply mounted to the mounting frame, the power supply providing power to the cutter for actuating the cutting blades; and a guiding frame extending from the mounting frame, the guiding frame providing an inner guiding surface for directing the obstacle to a position between the opposing cutting blades of the cutter. The device is usable for cutting aerial obstacles, such as cables, beams and/or branches.

A device for cutting an aerial obstacle includes a mounting frame; an anchor point for attachment to a hoist; a cutter mounted to the mounting frame, the cutter having opposing cutting blades for engaging and cutting the obstacle when positioned therebetween; a power supply mounted to the mounting frame, the power supply providing power to the cutter for actuating the cutting blades; and a guiding frame extending from the mounting frame, the guiding frame providing an inner guiding surface for directing the obstacle to a position between the opposing cutting blades of the cutter. The device is usable for cutting aerial obstacles, such as cables, beams and/or branches.

A cutting apparatus is provided for cutting a cap as it travels along an advancement path in an advancement direction. The cutting apparatus includes a spindle movable along the advancement path and rotatable around an axis thereof. The spindle is shaped to interact with the cap and to rotate the cap around the axis. A support moves along the advancement path together with the spindle. The support is shaped to interact with the cap and to retain the cap against the spindle. A cutting device is arranged to form a cut in a side wall of the cap when the spindle reaches a cutting zone provided in the advancement path. The spindle includes a hollow housing shaped to house a cap protrusion to stop rotation of the cap in a preset position with respect to the spindle to orient the cap with respect to the cutting device.

A roll of sanitary tissue product comprising a shaped line of weakness, where the roll of sanitary tissue product may exhibit a roll compressibility of from about 4% to about 10% and a LWP Factor of greater than about 8.

A plant-trimming apparatus comprises two spaced-apart end plates, a rotatable tumbler, a rotatable reel comprising a reel shaft and reel blades, two bearing blocks, each detachably connected to a respective end plate and rotatably supporting a respective end of the reel, a motor arranged to drive the reel and the tumbler, a bed bar assembly comprising a bed bar and a bed knife, the bed knife being in operative engagement with the reel blade for cutting of plant material from the tumbler, and a manually-operated locking mechanism operable to secure the bearing blocks and the bed bar assembly to the end plates. The apparatus can be easily disassembled for cleaning and re-assembled, without using tools.

Size-reduction units, size-reduction machines, and methods capable of producing size-reduced products from a variety of solid and semisolid materials. A size-reduction unit includes a circular cutter adapted and arranged to cut a product into strips, a rotating cross-cutter adapted and arranged to receive the strips from the circular cutter, and a stripper plate. The cross-cutter has knives with cutting edges that are adapted and arranged to cut the strips into a size-reduced product, and the stripper plate defines a shear edge in proximity to the cutting edge of each knife of the cross-cutter as its cutting edge encounter the shear edge during rotation of the cross-cutter. The cross-cutter has a helical fluted shape comprising flutes between adjacent pairs of the knives.