Help Ben Create an Automatic Can Crusher -- Episode 3

pneumatic cylinder with a spring return and  a 12v tire pump..    Then you can have a photoeye see the can and start the pump.

Have you ever placed an empty soda can on the ground and tried to stand on it with one foot?  Not too hard and the can usually will withstand the force applied by your body and gravity.  But notice how easily the can is crushed just by merely tapping the sides of the can with two sticks.   I did this often growing up.  So perhaps you are providing enough force with your homemade solenoid....maybe you just need to weaken the sides of the can first.  With two solenoids you could maybe get it done.  One to squeeze the sides a little, then the other to punch the can.

hydraulic ram would probably be best. You could probably even get away with using a pneumatic ram. If you want less parts why not canabilize a drill. You can modify the torque settings on those very easily, they are reliable and you could get one for pretty cheap. Just hook that up to a wormgear. Nice thing is that you could easily reset the machine by using the reverse setting on the drill. If you wanted to get fancy you could hook all the triggers up to a microcontroller and automate the process which you could then relay to a computer via serial communication if you want to get fancy.

Forgive me for asking, but couldn't they just up the voltage on the solenoid plunger, or would that not work?

Why not use a pump  to drive a hydraulic ram. This would be a very efficient way to crush cans or anything in fact

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Just a thought, perhaps the motor and worm gear assembly used in adjustable seats.  Not certain how much torque it can produce, but if it can move a former wisconsinite such as myself after a double order of fried cheese curds, it should have no problem crushing a little aluminum.

A design note, perhaps a slide rod design similar to the slides on your cnc router

another option  before going to that extreme a design change is to perhaps  mount the motor on a pivot so it can angle out ward as handle moves outward.

you'd need to create a U shaped bracket that would go directly on the handle of the store bought crusher so as to allow you to insert the can.

you'd of course want some sort of limit switch that tells the device it's crushed the can enough, and then a motor reversing circuit to open the crusher back up with another limit switch to break the latched relay once it's opened back up enough.

another thought; if it were mounted sideways  with a slot on the back side for the crushed can to conveniently fall into your recycling bin below as the crusher opened back up.

If these instructions are clear as mud as I assume they are, I could be convinced to illustrate these modifications in a video. A t-shirt perhaps.

Happy modding,

Deep C

Very nice, It's great to see how the laptop cases are actually made, it gives you a better understanding of how it all fits together than just seeing the illustrator documents from the engadget how-tos.