Ram Style Can Crusher

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Here is can crusher design that I sort of copied from one I saw. It actually has a bit more "engineering" involved than you might assume. Some parts are very critical.I sort of give myself a B+ on the project, some things can be improved. The criterion was:A. There should be no weak links that would break using the max human muscle power available.B. It should have max compaction, hopefully to around / under 1/4".C. Can should telescope down and remain virtually round.D. Should have a very high cycle rate allowing many cans in a short period.E. Should operate smoothly.F. There should be no parts that wear out over a fairly long period, like my life time.G. Should be fun to use.Hopefully the pixs explain most of it. It is best to build the box and then play around sizing the ram and determining the power rod length by doing it in wood. The sizing is critical including exactly where to drill the holes. The ram power rod wants to be almost straight out with no angle formed, it is like a punch being thrown, the max power comes right at the end. Get the length's / angles wrong it will lock up if you over draw the ram on resetting it. In my installation the handle length acts to hit the wall and limit ram return. Without that feature, I would had to build in stops to limit withdrawal.I didn't get it exactly as perfect as I wanted. The ram should have had a longer side skirts at the back to help it track better without having bottom rails added in the discharge area. The discharge area could have been a wee tad wider than the normal ram slide area.The cutout area where the ram / power rod operate must be carefully done if using bolts. The bolt head and nuts can be in conflict as they cycle thru the bottom plate area. I will make those welded flush rods once I get a break in period done. The entire ram / rod / handle will be one unit and can still be removed.Also do not try to get all the slop out of the unit. A wee tad is good. This puppy cycles very smooth and fast, one hand feeds the cans, the other pulls the handle, gravity does the rejects to a bucket underneath. Ram closes with a lot of force on final few inches. Lots of leverage is available.Using this same general principle I will retry it using pipe. Not having to mess about being that exact forming the box / ram should help. Cutting is more the work, with probably a lot less welding required. A longer ram stroke might be possible for bigger cans, might be able to design in a selection feature by can size. Plus you probably can get a better work up with more leverage by putting a wheel like section on the handle tip. I'm thinking of using a car disk brake rotor. Done right, the ram / pipe unit can be sealed by putting the end strike plate on last. Using oversized pipe for that last few inches in the discharge area also might help getting increased area to ensure everything discharges cleanly.Again probably will help to build wooden models of the critical stuff to get the parts right quickly. Too difficult to keep trying to modify heavier metal parts. Might seem like a simple project but it can really chew up some time. I use stuff out of the scrap box. No real material costs other than power and welding rods on this one. Happy with the results. Attached ImagesLast edited by CosmicRambler; 09-22-2011 at 01:44 AM.Reason: spelling
Reply:That is pretty sweet.  Now you are going to have to engineer a top loader for that thing.Jeff
Reply:Just for a laugh you should go on youtube and see the automatic can crushers there.[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GaIe_Pchk0&feature=related[/ame]must be a big bar to feed this think!!!
Reply:I might play around and engineer a top loading hopper out of some thinner metal. A sort of side rolling angle is probably better. But I doubt it will add much to my speed, I'm pretty quick with the left hand. With a loader you have to limit your cycle rate to allow time for the can to drop, everything is trade off's. Hand feeding is very fast once in a rhythm. The trick being how to line up the cans on the window sill. Can blow thru an entire bag quick.Thanks for the collection of the ones on U-Tube. You do find a lot of claims. Most of them are a bit of puff. lot of guys getting poor compaction results. It is difficult to design something that is both fast and has max compaction. If you ain't getting to 1/4" or less, you ain't in the game. I'm probably in the range of 25 : 1 volume reduction now. I'll have to study the ones given above more closely.The next problem with a hand powered machine for me is how to break down the seamed areas of the can both top and bottom. That limits my compaction at present. My general theory is either you have to penetrate the seams with cuts or design in a rolling action at the very last. And you still must have the can release and fall cleanly.  The face of the ram might not want to be exactly flat over the entire surface. Found this out playing around with another one that had a hickory wood ram and a lot more slop in the overall mechanisms.Somewhere down the line want to try it again using pipe sized just a tad bigger than the can and go for a double levered type ram action. My design now the handle only swings thru a tad over 90 degrees. Go for more handle rotation and a more complicated set of ram lever bars but again the trade offs, that machine will not have the speed of the present one. More about how to design and operate it using your body weight to the max advantage.Been some local talk about having contests at local fairs, events, etc. It will be all about how you write the rules.After you play around a bit, it is clear why there is not a ton of these for sale in a commercial sense. Lawyer heaven, let some kid get his hand in there wrong, talking serious hospital time. Dangerous critters that should be treated as such.Least it is a hobby you can make some money with, plus saving the planet one can at a time.
Reply:question, why does the can need to be crushed to save the planet?these types of projects, though fun on the engineering side, are always lost on me. Mother nature gave us perfectly good can crushers, They're called kids, free labor is the best labor. But really. hands can twist them down to an inch or so. and a stomping foot can do better. Personally I don't hord cans so I dispose of them as I go. If I need to do a bunch at once, setting them up in a row and stomping them works just as fast as setting them up in a row and hand feeding them into a crusher. then it's a snow shovel full at a time into the bin.Don't get me wrong. It's a well thought out design and looks good. I just don't see the point.There are no problems. There are only solutions. It's your duty to determine the right one.Hobart Handler 210Airco 225 Amp MSM Stinger
Reply:here in NY you get 5cents a can..not crushed..Of all the things I lost I miss my mind the most...I know just enough about everything to be dangerous......You cant cure stupid..only kill it...
Reply:Originally Posted by ThorsHammerquestion, why does the can need to be crushed to save the planet?Don't get me wrong. It's a well thought out design and looks good. I just don't see the point.
Reply:No $ back in WA, so it all just goes to the recycler in the bin with everything else. I understand it in states that have a monitary incentive. But if you're doing it for a living wouldn't an automatic one produce a better product. think motorized piston initial crush which drops into a double drum roller crusher. maybe add a rotory hopper to the top end so that you can just dump a bag in. if the can is already small enough go through the drums it drops out to a slide, and the uncrushed/partially crushed cans go through the piston.Just flip the switch and dump the bag. Initial cust would be much higher, but you'd have more fun with your engineering and you'd get an end product that is reduced to a smaller size than a hand crusher could do. and if you really want to have fun, you figure out a way to run it all of 1 motor.There are no problems. There are only solutions. It's your duty to determine the right one.Hobart Handler 210Airco 225 Amp MSM Stinger
Reply:Tne more big time commercial approach to this problem is to first shread the cans about like one of those tree shreading machines. Then they compact that pile into a bale. There is a big aluminum plant not that far from my house, they do a lot of recycling.Any time there is a public event in Ohio you can be sure somebody has the aluminum cans turf well staked out. Something like the Jamboree in the Hills concert thing the total cans might be worth up toward many ten of thousands of dollars. They demand folks use cans. They are all in one fairly small area.Very difficult to make a living at it, if you got to do the collection over any land area. So I just make sure "My Cans" are kept within bounds, they are like snow flakes, sure add up.If you mess around long enough, you want a can crusher that works. Bragging rights are a plus.
Reply:at first I thought shredder, but without a large compactor/bailer it's not worth it.There are no problems. There are only solutions. It's your duty to determine the right one.Hobart Handler 210Airco 225 Amp MSM Stinger
Reply:Dude those cans don't have enough Hopps in them. That stuff is bad for you you know. You could have at least borrowed some of the right kind of cans, (for the pics for the guys ya know).. Kidding cool little rig but don't try to compete with the youtube units they have way too much time and engineering involved for the average guy to compete with.Miller thunderbolt 250Decastar 135ERecovering tool-o-holic ESAB OAI have been interested or involved in Electrical, Fire Alarm, Auto, Marine, Welding, Electronics ETC to name a just a few. So YES you can own too many tools.
Reply:I like your crusher. Very nice design. I always love looking at these crushers and have thought about making one... either pneumatic, gear motor, or flywheel, it doesn't really matter.  Right now I smash them flat using a chuck of scrap welded to a pipe. Cheap and easy. I originally made this to smash turnings... and later discovered it does a fine job with cans I want a crusher that can get them this thin. It saves a LOT of space. Can on the left was smashed with my work boot. Can on the right, flat as pancake, with the smasher  Attached Images