Chopping apparatus

A chopping apparatus for separating continuous items selected from the group consisting of fiber, wire, ribbon, tape, and strands made up of a plurality of one or more of these items by pulling one or more of these items into the chopping apparatus at a speed of at least 1000 feet per minute, said apparatus comprising components including a rotatable blade roll including a blade holder and a plurality of blades for chopping and a back up roll or cot having a working layer to support or push said items while said blades work to separate said items into the lengths of one inch or less, said rotatable blade roll, blades, and rotatable back up roll or cot mounted in said chopping apparatus such that as the blade roll and back up roll or cot rotate, each of the blades come into contact with and penetrate into said working layer, one or more of the components including the blade roll and the back up roll or cot being at least partly made from a temperature sensitive thermoplastic polymeric or elastomeric material, the improvement comprising means for maintaining the temperature of the temperature sensitive material in at least one of the components, said means including means for cooling a fluid to a temperature below 50 degrees F. and for directing said fluid onto one or more of the blade roll, the back up roll or cot and the items being chopped to maintain the temperature of said temperature sensitive material below that which would cause said material to deform in such a way as to reduce the effectiveness of the chopping function.