Can
Crusher
Project
4th Period- Tech
Kartikey Desai, Courtney
Jones, Sarah Kasi, and Jon
Ko
Table of Contents
Section
Page #
Group Development……………………………………………………………………..……..3
Roles and Responsibilities……………………………………………………….……..3
Team Constitution………………………………………………………………..……..3
Timeline………………………………………………………………………………………...4-5
Problem Statement……………………………………………………………………………..6
Background………………………………………………………………………….………….6
Customers……………………………………………………………………………………….6
Scope……………………………………………………………………………………….…...6-7
Deliverables……………………………………………………………………………………..7
Brainstorming………………………………………………………………………...………...8
Research and Generate Ideas……………………………………………………….………9-12
Research………………………………………………………………………………9-11
Calculations…………………………………………………………………………11-12
Criteria and Constraints…………………………………………………………….………12
Explore Possibilities………………………………………………………………….…… 13-19
Designs…………………………………………………...…………………………..13-16
Method of Bonding………………………………………………………………….17-18
Nuts…………………………………………………………………………………..18-19
Bolts…..……………………………………………………………………………......19
1
Selecting an Approach………………………………………………………………………20-22
Designs………………………………………………………………………………….20
Adhesives…………………………………………………………………………….…21
Bolts…..…………………………………………………………………………….......21
Nuts……………………………………………………………………………………..22
Developing a Design Proposal…………………………………………………………..….23-26
Bill of Materials………………………………………………………………………….23
Build Process…………………….………………….………………………………..24-26
Test Plan…………………………………………………...……………………………..27
Prototype………………………………………………………………………………………...28
Test and Monitor………………………………………………...........………………………..29
Refine……………………………………………………………………………………………30
Lessons Learned………………………………………………………………………………...30
Summary………………………………………………………………………………………..31
CAD Drawings……..……………………………………………………………………......32-55
2
Group Development
Role
Person
Leader
Courtney Jones
Scribe
Kartikey Desai
Scribe
Sarah Kasi
Responsibility
Keep everyone on task and
assign assignments
Write documents and keep
notes of everything
Write documents and keep
notes of everything
Keep us on schedule and tells
Timekeeper
Jon Ko
us where we are in our
timeline
Team Constitution
Rules, Regulations, and Expectations
1. All team members should respect each other and the ideas that are shared.
2. All team members must do work.
3. All team members must help in the building process of the can crusher.
4. We must be open to working outside of class.
5. We must stay on task and focused at ALL TIMES.
6. Everyone MUST put forth their maximum effort.
7. No one dominates the team.
8. All team members must STAY POSITIVE.
3
Timeline
Can Crusher
Project Timeline
Group Members: Kartikey Desai, Courtney Jones, Sarah Kasi, Jon Ko
Note: All work documented by team scribes or individual task owner
Plan Date
Start
21Mar
21Mar
21Mar
21Mar
21Mar
21Mar
21Mar
21Mar
22Mar
22Mar
22Mar
25Mar
22Mar
28Mar
28Mar
2-Apr
2-Apr
2-Apr
5-Apr
28-
Act. Date
Comp Start Comp
222123Mar
Mar
Mar
212020Mar
Mar
Mar
212021Mar
Mar
Mar
212121Mar
Mar
Mar
212121Mar
Mar
Mar
222121Mar
Mar
Mar
212121Mar
Mar
Mar
212121Mar
Mar
Mar
2519Mar
Mar 6-Apr
241925Mar
Mar
Mar
241925Mar
Mar
Mar
25Mar 5-Apr 6-Apr
222122Mar
Mar
Mar
292429Mar
Mar
Mar
292429Mar
Mar
Mar
122811Apr
Mar
Apr
3-Apr 1-Apr 1-Apr
14145-Apr
Apr
Apr
14148-Apr
Apr
Apr
2282-
Who's
Responsible
Task
Jon
Start and finish timeline
Courtney
Group development and team constitution
Sarah
Problem Statement
Sarah
Background
Courtney
Customers
Courtney
Scope
Sarah
Deliverables
Team
Brainstorming
Team
Research and Generate Ideas
Sarah
Overall & Aluminum Can Bin
Courtney
Sarah and
Courtney
Lever & Base
Kartikey
Criteria and Constraints
Team
Explore Possibilities
Team
Select an Approach
Team
Sarah
Sarah and
Courtney
Sarah and
Courtney
Jon and Kartikey
Develop a Design Proposal
Test Plan
Can Crusher Calculations
Build Process
Bill of Materials
CAD Drawings
4
Mar
28Mar
18Apr
21Apr
28Apr
28Apr
29Apr
4May
5May
5May
6May
10May
12May
17May
17May
20May
20May
18Mar
22Mar
25May
May
17Apr
20Apr
29Apr
29Apr
29Apr
2May
4May
18May
5May
9May
11May
17May
18May
20May
21May
21May
22May
22May
1-Jun
Mar
28Mar
18Apr
21Apr
25Apr
21Apr
29Apr
4May
5May
5May
10May
10May
12May
5May
22May
28Apr
19May
18Mar
18Mar
May
15Apr
19Apr
24Apr
27Apr
25Apr
2May
5May
20May
10May
20May
16May
16May
5May
23May
23May
23May
23May
24May
Jon and Kartikey
Bin with Inclined plane
Jon Ko
Self-Loading Mechanism
Jon Ko
Crushing Mechanism
Kartikey
Jon Ko and
Kartikey
Jon Ko and
Kartikey
Frame
Team
Get CAD Drawings checked by Mr. Pritchard
Team
Prototype
Team
Bin
Team
Self-Loading Mechanism
Team
Frame
Team
Crushing Mechanism(Lever)
Team
Prototype section in tech report
Team
Refine
Team
Lessons Learned
Team
Summary
Team
Tech Report
Team
PowerPoint
Team
Presentation
Make A-Size for Individual Parts of Bin
Make A-Size for Crushing Mechanism &
Frame
5
Problem Statement
Roadrunner Trucking wants us to build a can crusher that will reduce the volume of their
aluminum cans.
Background
We work for Alpha Engineering Company, and Roadrunner Trucking has contacted us
because they have a lot of aluminum can wastes. In order to reduce the waste, we were asked to
create a can crusher that will reduce the volume of the aluminum cans by seventy percent. If they
do not find a way to reduce the volume of these cans they will have to pay a fine of $0.05 per
can.
Can crushers are primarily used to save space and recycling. Can crushers make it possible to
make small stackable piles that save space. There are many designs that can crushers come in.
Some of the designs are pneumatic, hydraulic, aluminum, and wood. Jesse M. Wright was the
man who invented the aluminum can crusher in 1937, but he did not get it patented until August
30, 1938.
Customers
Our two customers are Mr. Pritchard, our ITC instructor, and Roadrunner Trucking Company.
Scope
Our task for this project is to design and create a can crusher that will minimize the
volume of aluminum cans by 70%. The can crusher will be made up of various parts including a
lever, body, and aluminum bin. Sarah and I will be documenting all of the work we do in the
designing and building to create our technical report. We will be composing a Power Point that
will be presented during class. We will be turning in our can crusher, technical report, and Power
Point presentation to Mr. Pritchard at the close of the project.
We will be utilizing different resources throughout the project to successfully complete
our research. We also have the privilege to utilize the following individuals:

Technical – Mr. Pritchard
6


Math Calculations – Miss Hernacki
CAD Drawings – Mr. Hund
The materials that we will be using for this project are wood, PVC, metal brackets, metal
hinges, screws, and nails. In addition, we will also use many shop tools including the band saw,
claw hammer (to go with nails), drill press / hand held portable electric drill, and sander. The
approximate cost of all the material we will need to purchase is $40.
The key constraints given by our customers are:








Maximum space of 18”×24”×30”
Minimum of one simple machine
Aluminum can must fall into the aluminum can bin once crushed
Aluminum can bin must slide in and out of crusher
Aluminum can bin must hold 20 uncrushed cans
Design must be one unit
Must be manually operated
All parts must be made not bought
There are a few conflicts we have with meeting outside of class. Kartikey and Jon Ko are in
tennis so it will be hard for all four of us to meet after school due to their practices. Another issue
we will face is meeting during study hall. Sarah and Jon Ko do not have a study hall throughout
the week. Also, Courtney and Kartikey do not have study hall during the same period, so they
cannot work together; they can only work by themselves. Other than that,we have no issues in
meeting outside of school.
Deliverables
At the end of this project we will give our customers 3 different outputs.
The 3 outputs are the can crusher, technical report, and PowerPoint presentation. The can crusher
will be composed of the lever, body, and aluminum can bin. The technical report will take us
through the 12-step design process and it will contain our final CAD drawings. The PowerPoint
presentation will be a complete overview of our whole project
7
Brainstorming

Overall:
o What adhesive should we use? Wood glue? Hot glue? Super glue?
o Will the can crusher be operated by hand or foot?

Aluminum Can Bin:
o
What material should it be made of? (Wood?)
o
What size should it be?
o
How thick should the material be? (Does it matter?)
o
If we can make it hold more than 20 crushed cans, should we? (Or would that be a
waste of material?)
o
Should it be really tall but narrow? Wide but flat? Square sides like a cube?
o
How will it slide in and out of the crusher? (Like a drawer?)
o
Will we need a handle in order to slide it out of the crusher?
o
Do we need to do anything specifically so that it smoothly slides out of the
crusher? (Or would this be a waste of material?)

Lever:
o What material(s) should it be made of?
o What other parts will we need to get? Metal hinges? Screws?
o How thick should the material be? (Does it matter?)
o How big / long should it be?
o The longer the lever is, the less input force is required. Is there a way we can
mathematically calculate the length of the lever so that too much input force is not
required to crush the can to 30% its original size?

Base:
o What material should it be made of? (Wood?)
o How big will it be?
o Should we make it so that it could hold something bigger than the size of a
standard aluminum can, or would that be a waste of material?
8
Research and Development

Overall
o
Potential methods of attaching the parts are: wood glue, super glue, hot glue, duct
tape, and screw and nails. Hot glue will be messy, and will not be as strong as the
other potential solutions. Screw and nails will require the use of a drill. Screws
and nails are mess free and do not take drying time. The downside to screws and
nails are that if a mistake is made, it is hard to fix since the holes cannot be filled.
Wood glue and superglue are both fairly strong and will take around 15second to
dry. Wood glue is stronger, and is cheaper. Superglue is strong, but can be messy
and costs more for the quantity we will need.
o
Manual can crushers can be operated by either hand or foot. There are a variety of
different types of can crushers. All of our designs are different, but they are all
hand operated. Designs that require more input force are generally crushed by
foot, and can crushers that require very little input force (such as crushers with
long levers) are operated by hand.

Aluminum Can Bin
o
It would be ideal to make it using wood. It can be made of other materials such as
metal, but that would be more difficult and cost more.
o
The exact size depends on the design. It should be capable of holding 20 crushed
cans. (This can be calculated by finding the volume.) But making it so it holds
way more than 20 crushed cans would be a waste of material. Also, it should fit
in the 18” x 24” x 30” requirement.
o
The material thickness will depend on what they have at the store, although,
Home Depot has a variety of wood thicknesses. It should be thick enough so that
it is sturdy, but not too thick that it is both a waste of material and space. 1/2” to
3/4" thick is acceptable.
o
The aluminum can bin can slide out of the base like a drawer, but there do not
need to special appliances that help it slide smoothly (that would be a waste of
material).
9
o
A handle on the aluminum can bin would be most ideal, to pull the bin out of the
base since it is going to slide out like a drawer. However, the handle should be
designed big enough to fit an adult’s hand, but also as small as possible so save
material. (If using wood, the handle will have to be sanded a lot to prevent
splinters.)
o
Although not required on the aluminum can bin, metal brackets would make the
bin more sturdy. If using metal brackets, we must be careful when dimensioning
both the bin and base.

Lever
o The lever should be made of metal, wood, or aluminum. Plastic would not work
because it is not sturdy enough to exert that much pressure. Wood seems to be the
best option. It is highly available in a variety of sizes, and our customers will let
us use wood. In addition, it will be strong enough and easy to work with.
o The material should be thick so it can stand against a lot of force. 3/3” to 1” thick
is the minimum. 2” by 4” wood is a potential option.
o The lever should be long, not short, so we can use less input force. Since it is a
simple machine, the longer the lever, the less force required.
o Depending on the design, the lever may require other parts such as hinges. Metal
hinges, such as the ones that are in doors, are easily available.

Base
o The materials that we are allowed to use for the base are wood, aluminum, plastic,
and metal to construct the base of the can crusher.
o The size of the base will be decided by the group, but the maximum space it can
occupy is 18” in length and 24” in height.
o The frame does not need to be too thick, only a ½” to ¾” thickness is necessary if
using wood.
o Metal brackets would help the strength of the base. Metal brackets would help
prevent the base from falling apart while crushing a can. They will also help align
parts when gluing things together. The can be installed using screws or nails.
10
o We should make the base larger that the size of twenty uncrushed aluminum cans
to ensure that it will hold all of the cans. By making the base larger, it allows the
cans to fit in a way where they are not closely packed together where they cannot
be moved.

Can Crusher Calculations:
Can Dimensions: 2.625in in diameter (1.3125in in radius), 4.875in in height
Volume – 1 uncrushed can
V = πr2h
V = π x 1.31252 x 4.875
V = 26.38in3
Volume – 1 can reduced by 70%
V = πr2h x .3
V = π x 1.31252 x 4.875 x .3
V = 26.38 x .3
V = 7.914in3
Height of a crushed can (height reduced by 70%)
h = 4.875 × .3
h = 1.4625 in.
Volume – 20 uncrushed cans
V = πr2h x 20
V = π x 1.31252 x 4.875 x 20
V = 26.38 x 20
V = 527.66
11
Volume – 20 cans reduced by 70%
V = πr2h x .3 x 20
V = π x 1.31252 x 4.875 x .3 x 20
V = 26.38 x .3 x 20
V = 7.914 x 20
V = 158.28in3
Criteria and Constraints

Criteria:
o Self-loading
o Inexpensive
o Reliable
o Not time consuming
o Simple

Constraints:
o Maximum space the design can occupy is 18”x24”x30”.
o Materials that can be used are wood, PVC, metal brackets, metal hinges, screws
and nails.
o Minimum of one simple machine.
o
Crushed aluminum can must immediately fall into the aluminum can bin without
human intervention.
o The aluminum can bin must slide in and out of the crusher.
o The aluminum can bin must be sized to hold 20 crushed cans.
o All parts of the can crusher must be fabricated.
o The design is to be one unit.
o Must be manually operated.
12
Explore Possibilities
Design
Kartikey’s Design
Pros(+)
Cons(-)
Simple
Used incline plain wrong
Dimensioned well
No thickness
Self-loading
Requires a lot of input force
13
Courtney’s Design
Pros(+)
Cons(-)
Multi-view and isometric drawings
not dimensioned well
Follows all size constraints
No bin
Very neat
Lever too complicated and would not work
14
Sarah’s Design
Pros(+)
Aluminum can bin is really tall (all space will
be taken up
Cons(-)
Bin may tip over when crushing a can
Follows all constraints
complex
Very neat
Not self-loading
Uses a lot of material
15
Jon Ko’s Design
Pros(+)
Cons(-)
Detailed
Confusing
Good dimensions
Materials used are expensive
Followed most constraints
Aluminum can bin does not slide in and out
16
Method of Bonding Parts
Wood Glue
Pros(+)
Cons(-)
Sticks to wood
Hard to fix mistakes once glued
Strong
Dries a yellowish color
Inexpensive
Dries quickly
Hot Glue
Pros(+)
Cons(-)
Clear
Messy
Dries quickly
Takes up space when dried
Inexpensive
Takes time to heat up
Pros(+)
Cons(-)
Dries quickly
Can be messy
Strong
Expensive for the quantity we need
Super Glue
Not as affective on wood
Screws and Nails
Pros(+)
Cons(-)
Reliable
Hard to repair mistakes made with nails
Works well with brackets and wood
Inexpensive and common
Easy to repair mistakes with screws
17
Duct Tape
Pros(+)
Cons(-)
Does not need to dry
Comes off
Inexpensive
Sticks together
Hard to stick edges together
Not the best option
Nuts
Wing Nuts
Pros(+)
Cons(-)
Easy to turn without a wrench
Takes up a lot of room
Inexpensive
Available in many sizes in stores
Can go anywhere on the bolt
Hex Nuts
Pros(+)
Cons(-)
Inexpensive
Available in many sizes in stores
Small – does not take up too much space
Can be used with most wrenches
Can go anywhere on the bolt
18
Cap / Acorn Nuts
Pros(+)
Cons(-)
Can be used with most wrenches
Cannot go anywhere but the end of the bolt
Available in most sizes in stores
Does not take up too much room (but is still
bigger than the hex bolt)
Inexpensive
Bolts
Hex Bolts
Pros(+)
Cons(-)
Can be used with almost all wrenches
Inexpensive
Available in many sizes in stores
Carriage Bolts
Pros(+)
Cons(-)
Inexpensive
Cannot be used with many wrenches
Available in many sizes in stores
Square Head Bolts
Pros(+)
Cons(-)
Inexpensive
Does not work with some wrenches
Can be used with some wrenches
Not available in many sizes in stores
19
Select an Approach
Designs:
Potential Designs
Kartikey’s
Courtney’s
Sarah’s
Jon Ko’s
Design
Design
Design
Design
Self-loading
5
1
1
3
Inexpensive
4
3
3
3
Reliable
4
1
3
5
4
3
3
3
Simple
5
3
3
3
Ease of use
3
2
3
4
Total
25
13
16
21
Criteria
Quick to
build
Scale: 1 -5; 1 being the worst, 5 the best
Although Kartikey’s design scored highest, we will be combining Jon Ko’s design and
Kartikey’s design. The reason we will be doing this is because we liked that Kartikey’s design
was self-loading and that Jon Ko’s design had a reliable lever that would crush the can
effectively. Sarah’s design had a lever similar to Jon Ko’s, but Jon Ko’s dimensions would work
better with the design of our crusher.
20
Method of Bonding Parts:
Potential Adhesives
Criteria
Screws
Wood Glue
Hot Glue
Super Glue
and
nails
Duct
Tape
Dries quickly
4
5
4
5
5
Inexpensive
4
4
3
5
3
Sticks to our material
5
2
4
5
3
Ease of appliance
3
1
3
3
2
Cleanliness
4
1
3
4
1
Reliability
4
2
4
5
3
Total
24
15
21
27
17
Scale: 1 -5; 1 being the worst, 5 the best
We are going to use screws and nails as it scored the highest. Moreover, screws and nails
will work well with other materials we may use such as wood and metal brackets. If we run into
a circumstance where screws and nails are hard to use, we will use wood glue or duct tape.
Bolts:
Potential Bolts
Criteria
Hex Bolts
Carriage
Square
Bolts
Head Bolts
Can be used with wrenches
5
1
3
Inexpensive
4
4
4
Availability in store
5
5
3
Total
14
10
10
Scale: 1 -5; 1 being the worst, 5 the best
We are going to use hex bolts because they can easily be used with wrenches. Most wrenches
will work with hex bolts but many are not suited for carriage bolts and some do not work with
square head bolts. Also square head bolts are hard to find in some sizes
21
Nuts:
Potential Nuts
Criteria
Inexpensive
Ease of tightening /
loosening
Doesn’t waste space
Can go anywhere on the
bolt
Availability of sizes in
stores
Total
Cap / Acorn
Wing Nut
Hex Nut
5
5
4
5
5
5
2
5
4
5
5
1
5
5
4
22
25
18
Nut
Scale: 1 -5; 1 being the worst, 5 the best
We are going to use the hex bolt because it is fits all our criteria. Unlike the wing nut,
which takes up a lot of room, the hex nut does not waste space. Also, the hex nut can go
anywhere on the bolt unlike the cap nut.
22
Develop a Design Proposal
 CAD Drawings (See Attachments)
 BILL OF MATERIALS
PART
PART
DESCRIPTION
QUANTITY
UNIT
TOTAL
PRICE
PRICE
.75 × 2 ×4 PLYWOOD
1
$8.97
$8.97
.75 × 2 × 2 PLYWOOD
1
$6.97
$6.97
$5.37
$5.37
$1.24
$1.24
$2.78
$2.87
$2.27
2.27
WOOD
SCREWS
NAILS
2” LONG
1 PACK OF 50
SCREWS
CROWN BOLT
1 PACK OF 40
FINISHING NAILS
NAILS
WOOD
TITEBOUND WOOD
GLUE
GLUE
METAL
NARROW UTIITY
1 PACK OF 2
HINGES
HINGES 1-1/2”
HINGES
NUTS
3⁄ ” HEX NUT
8
8
$0.70
$5.60
3⁄ × 2” HEX BOLTS
8
6
$0.82
$4.92
3⁄ × 8” HEX BOLTS
8
1
$2.11
$2.11
BOLTS
8OZ. BOTTLE
SUBTOTAL
$37.96
TAX (9.5%)
$3.61
TOTAL
$41.57
 Build Process
23
 Aluminum Can Bin Outside
o Obtain the wood (.75” thick).
o Trace the outline parts A, B, 2 c’s, D on the wood. (Preferably larger to give
room to sand)
o Cut the wood.
o Sand the wood.
o Drill a hole (diameter = .375) in the center of the piece that has to be cut out
of part D
o Cut out the piece of part D with the jig saw
o Assemble pieces to ensure they fit.
o Screw pieces together
o Nail pieces together
 Aluminum Can Bin Inside
o Obtain the wood (.75” thick).
o Trace the outline of parts E, 2 F’s, 2 G’s and I (Preferably larger to give room
to sand)
o Cut the wood.
o Sand the wood.
o Assemble pieces to ensure they fit.
o Screw part I onto one of the part E’s.
o Screw the rest of the parts together.
o Check that the bin inside fits into the bin outside.
 Crushing Mechanism
Frame
o Obtain the wood (.75” thick).
o Trace the outline of parts N-Q on the wood. (Preferably larger to give room to
sand)
o Cut the wood.
o Sand the wood.
o Assemble pieces to ensure they fit.
24
o Drill 1 hole on part N and 1 on O where it is marked
o Using the crosscut miter saw, make cuts along the line for the long slot on
both part N and part O.
o Drill 2 holes (diameter = .375) on N and 2 on O at the ends of the long slot.
o
Cut out the material for the long slots on part N and O with the jig saw.
o Assemble pieces to ensure they fit.
o Screw the pieces together.
Lever
o Obtain the wood (.75”, 1.5” and 3”thick).
o
Trace the outline of the part J on 3” thick wood, and 2 part K’s on 1.5” thick
wood, 2 part L’s on 1” thick wood. (Preferably larger to give room to sand)
o Cut the wood.
o Sand the wood.
o Drill 2 holes for part J (refer to CAD drawings):
o Drill 2 holes with a drill bit smaller than .375 with the drill press
o Drill 2 holes .375 in diameter with the drill press
o Put part J into the frame to ensure it fits.
o With a jig saw, cut out the extra material on both part K’s.
o With the drill press, drill the holes for all K and L parts.
o Attach parts J-L to the frame, with nuts and bolts, to ensure they fit.
o Remove parts J, 2 K’s and 2 L’s and all the nut and bolts
 Self-loading Mechanism
o Obtain the wood (.75” thick).
o Trace the outline of parts R-T on the wood. (Preferably larger to give room to
sand)
o Cut the wood.
o Sand the wood.
o Assemble pieces to ensure they fit.
o Screw the pieces together
 Denting Mechanism
25
o Obtain the wood (.75” thick).
o Trace the outline of parts U and V on the wood. (Preferably larger to give
room to sand)
o Cut out part U and cut out V in the shape of a rectangle
o Sand parts U and V.
o Chamfer part V with the sander
o Glue part V to part U
o Nail part V to part U
 Assembling all of the subassemblies together
o Assembly the self-loading mechanism, denting mechanism, crushing
mechanism, and bin outside together, ensuring that they fit.
o Screw the self-loading mechanism to the crushing mechanism.
o Screw the metal hinge to the denting mechanism.
o Assemble denting mechanism onto the frame to make sure it is in exactly the
right spot
o Screw the other side of the hinge to the crushing mechanism.
o Line up the hole on the crushing mechanism bottom ( part Q) to the hole on
the bin outside (part D)
o Nail the crushing mechanism to the bin outside.
o Re-attach parts J-L onto the crushing mechanism with nuts & bolts
o Slide the bin inside into the bin outside
 Test Plan
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Test Criteria
Reliability
How Tested
Expected results
Crush a can,
The can will be
measuring size
crushed to 70% of
before and after
its original height
Actual Results
crushed
Durability
Crush a can, open
The aluminum can
and close the
bin will slide in and
drawer of the bin
out with ease
that stores
aluminum cans
Bin Must Hold 20
Put 20 cans crushed
All 20 cans will be
Crushed Cans
in the bin
crushed
Self- Loading
Put 3 cans into the
The crusher will be
self-loading
able to self-load
mechanism and
appropriately
crush all three cans
without any
complications
Can Must End-up
Crush a can and see
The can will fall
In Bin After Being
if it falls through
through the hole
Crushed
the appropriate hole
into the bin
into the bin
Prototype
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Our work process worked okay at first, but we should have added more detail in it to
make the parts easier to build. As we got deeper into building, we noticed how unreliable our
build process was. We were constantly making changes to our build process. By the time we got
to the building of the crushing mechanism, we stopped using the build process all together. We
believed that our build process was not reliable because we made it too simple. We should have
made it with more detail.
We had to make various changes in our design to ensure that it would be able to work.
Some of the changes we made to the crushing mechanism were we ended up putting the walls on
the opposite sides because we found out that it would be able to crush the cans easier. For our
outside bin, we made the hole that the cans would fall through bigger because, at first, the hole
was too small and the cans barely fell through.
Test and Monitor
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Test Criteria
Reliability
Durability
How Tested
Expected results
Actual Results
Crush a can,
The can will be
The can was
measuring size
crushed to 70% of
crushed to 1.5” in
before and after
its original height
height
crushed
(It will be 1.5” tall)
Crush a can, open
The aluminum can
The aluminum can
and close the
bin will slide in and
bin slid in and out
drawer of the bin
out with ease
with much ease
that stores
aluminum cans
Bin Must Hold 20
Put 20 cans crushed
All 20 cans will be
Bin could hold 20
Crushed Cans
in the bin
crushed
cans and still had
some space
Self- Loading
Put 3 cans into the
The crusher will be
The self-loading
self-loading
able to self-load
mechanism held 3
mechanism and
appropriately
cans with about an
crush all three cans
without any
inch worth of space
complications
at the top
Can Must End-up
Crush a can and see
The can will fall
The can fell into the
In Bin After Being
if it falls through
through the hole
bin with ease
Crushed
the appropriate hole
into the bin
into the bin
Refine
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In the refining stage, we had to remake the lever sides because the hex bolts would rub
against other lever arms when we would try to move them. To fix this problem, we cut off part of
the lever where the hex bolts were to where the head of the hex bolts were lined up with wood
piece. This helped us crush our cans with much more ease because the pieces were not clashing
with the hex bolts.
For the crushing mechanism, we decided to take out the handle that was connected to the
upright lever pieces because we found that the crusher worked better without it.
For the outside bin, we made the hole bigger for the crushed can to fall through. The
original hole was barely large enough for the crushed can to fall through. To ensure that all the
cans would be able to fall through every time with ease, we made the hole approximately one
inch larger.
Once we were done making all of our changes, we made sure that all CAD drawings
matched the changes. In our CAD drawings, we noticed that all the holes that were meant for
bolts to go through were .25” in diameter; we changed them to .375” in diameter because we got
bolts that were .375” thick.
Lessons Learned
We learned to effectively complete a large number of tasks at once without having to redo them by dividing and assigning the tasks, but also helping each other. We realized that we had
to assign people to do certain things, but the person would only be the leader for that task, and
other group members would have to help complete that task.
We also learned to use a lot of hand and power tools in the tech lab such as the crosscut
compound miter saw. Unlike our previous project, which had required very few tools, to build
our can crusher, we had to use a variety of tools.
Summary
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At the start of this project, we did not know much about how to build a can crusher. Our
first priority was to research can crushers in how they work, how to build them, and we had to
make sketches of a frame, bin, and crushing mechanism. Once we got in our group, we noticed
how different our designs were and we started picking which design we would like to go with.
Once we had our design picked out, we were ready to go through and make all decisions that
were necessary to finish and complete our project successfully.
When we were ready to build, we started with the bin inside and outside parts. Once done
with building the bin parts, we started to work on the frame of the crushing mechanism. We
saved the building of the crushing mechanism for last because we knew it would take the longest
to build.
Ultimately, this was a project that served as an important learning experience for all four
of us. We were able to complete the project by a given date, coming in during study hall, before
and after school. We also managed to polish a lot of the skills we attained while working on the
Gel Electrophoresis project. Overall, our project was quite successful and we were able to meet
our goal at the close of the project.
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