Thread: Anyhone Built a Cool Beer Can Smasher?

Gotta love the fast return on the first video.

Re-purpose a shaper in the 7 to 12" size. The ram can provide the smashing force (against a fixed block), the reciprocating movement of the ram can both trigger the feeding of a new can from the hopper and the release of the flattened one.

This one is a cool design. YouTube - ‪mechanical can crusher‬‏ I may make one on my spare time. Ooops. No spare time around here.

I built a pneumatic crusher from a discarded hydraulic (1.5“ x 8”) and 1 small 1” x 3” air cylinder
Both were dual acting cylinders. The large cylinder was laid in a piece of 3” channel with a slot cut in the discharge end. A shoe was attached to the business end of the cylinder, then a end plate (with air hole) was attached to the end of the channel, next I constructed a magazine that held 5-6 cans and the air cylinder was used to feed the cans from the magazine. Both cylinders were dual acting and connected in series so when the main cylinder was retracted the magazine cylinder was extended thus holding cans in the magazine. When the main cylinder was extended the air cylinder retracted thus letting another can fall into the staging area so when the main cylinder retracted again, the air cylinder pushed that can into the business area. The magazine stood up at about a 60 degree angle and was constructed in such a way that “almost” any aluminum can would work. To operate this contraption I used a 2 way manual/electric valve (again from discarded machinery) The operator either pushed a button on the valve or I used a remote starter button for standoff. It was a monthly event to crush cans in my neighborhood and generally had all the neighborhood kids standing in line with a bag of cans anxious to push the button for their cans. I quit using it several years ago when I discovered all the liability associated with todays society. I would post a pic of this contraption, but it was built in a couple hours while under the influence and 2-3 buddies involved. It is not aesthetically pleasing!

My next crusher was to be a constantly rotating table (vertical axis) with 5-6 short barrels that the cans would be dropped into (would be similar to a handgun cylinder). The cylinder would rotate on a piece of plate with 1 drop out hole for the smashed cans. The air cylinder would be attached to the same axle on which the cylinder rotated and would be allowed to rotate approx 45 degrees as it smashed the can then rotate back (spring assisted) to the next barrel to take another shot. The logic would consist of a pair of micro switches to engage and release the cylinder. The rotation would be provided by a small gear head motor The only problem with this design is discovering a good way to let the compressed air escape the can without spraying ruminants of old beer, pop, etc from spraying the operator. The beauty of this design is the ability to protect the operator(s) from any potentially dangerous parts. The previous design had flaws that required someone to remove pieces of aluminum once in a while.

One of my coworkers built this twin cylinder can crusher over a Christmas break a few years ago out of scrap outside the shop.

YouTube - ‪Two Cylinder Can Crusher‬‏

Just put the cans out at the mailbox and let the postman or lady run over them.Then you can gather them up once a month.

I'd try to make something that crushes at ultra high speed. Machine gun type thing. Low speed can crushers have been done a million times, make something insane.

Also make loading easy, just dump a bag of cans in a hopper. individual can loading takes too long.

Dump in bag of cans
Press go
Blaaaaaa!!!!!
(Takes about a second.)
Done.
Put it on you tube.

I want to make a jaw type crusher like a rock crusher. Not fast but it should allow all the cans to be dumped in at once.

Originally Posted by John Welden

I'd try to make something that crushes at ultra high speed. Machine gun type thing. Low speed can crushers have been done a million times, make something insane.

Working on it, lets see if I can get a drawing done in a reasonable amount of time.

Kinda off topic.... I once worked at a place that had a 10 foot thick steel and concrete door that came up out of the floor via hydraulic ram.

Caught the night custodial guys throwing big garbage bags of cans on the door and crushing them by the hundreds.

Cyclotronguy

Is it wrong that I pulled out my calipers and radius gauge set to model a beer can?

Anyways, how does an alcohol powered gatling can crusher sound?

Back at my old job we had an autoloading crusher. For the mechanism we used a frame of 3/8" aluminum to make a box open on one side. We then used a plunger driven by an acme screw, and just a 1/2 hp motor, off a small grain auger I think with a v-belt so it would slip if you dialed it in wrong. On the bottom, we had a mat made of rubber floormat, which we countersunk a hole for a nut, and screwed a shcs from the bottom into that nut. We then mounted a prox sensor to sense that nut when we had enough "squish" on the can. The whole thing was on one of those $79 Omron Plc's. It was fed by a hopper with a funnel which turned square, to load the cans sideways. Sometimes you'd get an up-and-down one, but the crusher would just eat it anyways. It was pretty sweet, I may look see if I can find a picture...

-Parker

Originally Posted by Grits

Great ideas. I guess I could construct a combustion chamber with a ram and fuel it with acetylene and oxygen (another story). It would be simple to detonate it with a coil and a spark plug. An electric blasting cap alone would probably do the trick. I have had small explosions, along with a fire or two, in my kitchen before. A few more would not scare my neighbors much.

You can shred a full cab with a 220 Swift but I know my neighbors would run if I did that. I did prune limb from a tree with a shotgun once, in the middle of Little Rock, which did get a few folks attention.

Grits

Damn hoss! You need to move to Texas. You'd fit right in.
I was thinking something along the lines of a potatoe cannon firing on propane and a piezo lighter, with no exit of course. For those folks who like big booms.

If you're drinking enough beverages to need a high speed can crusher, you might want to think about changing your diet.

Whatever you end up making, there should probably be a rooster tail of cans being ejected out of the machine at high speed. A nice 15 foot arc if cans shooting out into a big bin is a must. Go extreme or don't do it.

An old hay baler would gang smash cans quick. Iv even seen them modified as a wood splitter that would split firewood as fast as you could load it.

I did machine and welding work for our local recycling center on their can baler gravity crusher had it a part our #5000 hyster could barely lift. 32 bales and you had a semi truck load.

I like the hit and miss engine one the best.

Originally Posted by Winterfalke

Is it wrong that I pulled out my calipers and radius gauge set to model a beer can?

Anyways, how does an alcohol powered gatling can crusher sound?

Is the operator alcohol powered or the crusher?

I looked at a bunch of can crusher on You Tube and liked this one the best of all the single can crusher.

Marci

I dump all the cans in the alley on trash day. Garbage truck runs them over for me. I give him a ice cold coke and he even backs over them a couple times. Good ole boy he is. What I really need is a snow shovel to scoop them back up.


...MC

Had this one on the drawing board for a while, just haven't had to the time to get to doing too much on it. Even bought material and everything.

The Can Crusher Crossbow. Crush the can as you cock the crossbow, and then shoot the disc. Nothing crazy, just something to launch the disc at a barrel 40 or 50 feet away.

Originally Posted by david n

Is the operator alcohol powered or the crusher?

How about both?

It's getting there.