There are a wide variety of medicinal plants trimmers available on the market today for cultivators interested in taking their trimming process beyond hand-trimming. However, the design and functionality differences between the most commonly seen medicinal plants trimmers can be confusing. Below we’ve listed the most common types of leaf trimmer machine including descriptions. They are organized from smallest processing volume to largest.
Bowl-style trimmers look exactly like you’d expect; bowl leaf trimmer are small units shaped like a salad bowl spinner and operate with a similar principle. They are typically the lowest cost option available for medicinal plants and hemp trimming. Medicinal plants or hemp flower is loaded into the “bowl” component of the machine, and brushes inside the bowl trimmer then sweep the flower across a blade system that rotates underneath the bottom of the bowl.
Wand-style medicinal plants trimmers are small units meant to be operated with one hand while you hold the medicinal flower in the other hand. Typically the “wand” component contains blades that vibrate back and forth. More expensive models contain a suction system to collect some of the trim, while the cheapest models are simply powered shears. Wand-style trimmers can be used to trim dry or wet medicinal plants.
Many types of trimmers could be technically be considered “batch-style” trimmers. But, in the jargon of commercial medicinal plants harvesting, batch-style trimmer refers to the larger size stand-up trimmers like Green Broz and EZ Trim Satellite. They work in a similar manner of as the bowl-style trimmer, but are much larger and meant for higher processing volume. Medicinal plants flower is loaded into the top, and a large series of brushes pushes the flower over rotating circular blades that sit at the bottom of the unit. The trimmer will be powered on and then run until the desired trim level is reached. The operator will then stop the machine and dump the flower out of a chute in the bottom into a tote or bin. 
Barrel-style trimmers are technically batch-style trimmers, but the design is different enough to carve them off into a category of their own. They look similar to a cement mixer, and function in a similar fashion. Medicinal plants flower is loaded into the open end, then electric leaf trimmer are tilted upwards and powered on. The flower is rolled around inside across the barrel walls, which consist of two layers of slotted steel that rotate in opposite directions, creating the tearing action. When the desired trim level is reached, the unit is powered off and tilted forward to dump the medicinal plants flower into a tote.