Can crusher?I have to make a can crusher that can crush a can into several centimeters. I have ideas such as using a crane and a cinderblock or maybe even a seesaw, also a spring. However, this can is placed in the middle of a 15 ft circle, so we can't get near to the can. Does anyone have any suggestions for an efficient and relatively not so hard technique? thanks
use a hydralic press like the one you use to press bearings really cheap as parts can be bought at a auto parts store
You make that board which holds the can long enough so that you step ( rather jump ) onto the knee of the lever structure outside the forbidden circle. Note those 2 pins from the short side of the lever to the board have to be extremely strong (that drawing looks a bit flimsy....)
Use a 15 ft see-saw. Put the fulcrum at the circumterence of the 15 ft circle and attach a 50 lb weight securely on the far end over the can. Then use your weight on the opposite side of the see-saw to raise the 50 lb weight over the can.Then remove yourself from the see saw and the 50 lb end of the see saw will drop onto the can. Voila. 7.5 feet times 50 lbs will give you 375 ft-lbs plus gravity force to crush the can. When the can is crushed, get back on the see saw and raise the weight.
This was an Irish leaving cert. project last year although the can was placed into the macheine. I was doing my L.Cert this year and we had to make a table tennis ball shooter, with great improvisation I finished on the last day. Why tell you this? Because from my experience you won't find any thing on the internet. If you really need an idea how about a 15ft mallet? No seriously a 15ft battery operated mallet. It would have be like a see saw having its fulcrum 15ft away form the can. A big cam using a combination of gears and moments (force = weight by distance) would cause the mallet see saw to raise then drop on the can. I call it the mallet-saw(patent pending!).
This is for some kind of science project, right? It would help if you could give more details on the rules and the goals of the contest. Are you looking for an idea that will crush the most cans per hour? Or are you looking to make a crusher that will crush the can as small as possible? Maybe they want a crusher that is impressively complex and original? Are there any restrictions on what materials you can use, or how big it can be? Can you use powertools in your design? What kind of materials do you have access to? Metal plates? Wood? What tools do you have access to? Off the top of my head, I would say the simplest and most efficient idea is some kind of vise actuated by a lever. But since I'm not sure what you want, that idea might be way off base.
