10/3/2025 - First Steps, Planning

Well, it's shredder time!
Here are some goals for the project:

• utilize 3D printing for design flexibility
• shred stuff (pretty straightforward)
• I'll try to utilize metal shaft/blades if necessary The goal is to make it intuitive and reasonable, with as many features as possible. I'm thinking modularity and safety, as well as easy incorporation into other systems (mounting!) Attached is an inspiration for the shredder blades!

10/4/2025 - Started CAD

Made some decent progress making the CAD file for the shredder. I will go over some highlights and features.
Highlights:

• I made an object that sort of looks like a shredder.
• It took me a while to figure out the best way to model it
  • I am trying to use separate components, which is considered "good organization" in CAD
  • This will prove useful if I ever happen to want to make animations

Features:

• I set up groups of 3 blades: this will displace the cutting, enabling less torque necessary to cut the material
  • This is visualized using different colors
• There are also a set of fixed blades the rotating blades will be cutting into
• The fixed blades are connected to the "base", utilizing the flexibility of 3D printing technology
  

10/10/2025 - Brushed up CAD

Brushed up the CAD!

• Made it 3D printable
• Connects by using m5 hardware
• Made a Shaft Collar

• Found Large Bearings (12mm ID) to use
  I also created a mesh/filter to enable consistent sized particles from coming through.
  Possible Roadblocks & Looking Ahead:

• I don't think a 3D printed shaft will be strong enough

• A funnel/feeder would be nice
  I feel pretty good about how it's looking.

10/11/2025 - Created Aluminum Extrusion Base

Wow. What a journey.
It genuinely feels so amazing to have a project come together like that.
So I guess I'm just about ready to ship this project!?!
Here's what I've accomplished:

• Created aluminum extrusion base for the shredder
• Finalized BOM - finding off-the-shelf parts is quite hard!
• Created mounts on the shredder for the aluminum extrusion

Some minor trinkets that will be modelled in (but I'm too impatient to ship):

• aluminum extrusion mounts (These can be quickly modelled)
• Hopper (literally a hollowed pyramid shape)

10/26/2025 - [Build] Unboxing!

Started off the work session very excitedly. I had received the Amazon hardware supplies bought by the grant; I’m so grateful! However, the unboxing experience was slightly unpleasant. The aluminum hex shaft as well as the 400mm 2020 aluminum extrusions came as expected. However, the shorter 200mm 2020 aluminum extrusions came with tape on EVERY SINGLE PIECE (10 TOTAL), WHICH I HAD TO PEEL FROM ALL 4 SIDES (40 PIECES OF TSPE TOTAL). AND THE WORST PART? THOSE ALUMINUM EXTRUSIONS HAD METAL SHAVINGS ON THEM. I understand that cutting metal will produce those shavings, but those shavings should not have ended up in the hands of the consumer! I don’t have any experience with manufacturing aluminum extrusion myself, but I think a shop-vacuum or a blower could easily get rid of the shavings. And the tape took FOREVER to unbox… Rough start so far.

10/27/2025 - 3D Printed 2020 Extrusion Corner Brackets

3D printed 2020 aluminum extrusion corner brackets. These will hold the frame together. Now I’m just waiting for the t-nuts to arrive! The part is made extra chunky for 3D printing!

10/29/2025 - CAD Touchup + Corner brackets!

Today, I designed 2020 aluminum extrusion 90 degree corner brackets. I tried to make them as chunky as possible, taking advantage of 3D printing's characteristics. They turned out pretty great!

(and I did 3D model them before 3D printing!)

10/31/2025 - Updating CAD for Hardware

I am now working to update the CAD to be compatible with the arrived hardware.
The shaft is a lot thicker than I thought it would be, so I am changing the geometry there. Also, it is quite long, so I may saw it short.

11/1/2025 12 PM - Partial assembly of the frame

Assembling the frame! I’m using internal 90 degree brackets as well as 3 way external brackets. All 3D printed! This definitely took a lot longer than expected: the t-nuts are quite hard to align. And there are wayyy more m5x8 screws used than I expected.

11/1/2025 6 PM - Updated Custom 90 degree Internal Corner Bracket

Changed some aspects of the chunky internal corner bracket. Made the object more compact and improved printability with less circular overhangs and added some chamfers.

11/2/2025 - Worked on Aluminum Extrusion Frame Assembly

Got another part of the aluminum extrusion frame assembled. It’s pretty hard to align the extrusions perfectly with the corner brackets I chose. Right now working on 3 way brackets

11/9/2025 - Added more fasteners and prepping for hopper

Today, I spent a lot of time brainstorming and understanding the forces that go into a shredder. The base needs to have a lot of structural integrity, since a great amount of force will be exerted on the base. To combat this, a lot more fasteners are added to combat torsion. If necessary, I will add metal beams to support the base, but hopefully that's not necessary. I also added a bunch of mounting holes for the future hopper.

11/16/2025 - Designed and Printed Hex Bearings an Shaft Collars

So I’ve been working on 3d printable hardware for the hex shaft. So I made 3/4” hex bearings and hex shaft collars for the shredder. This is nice since I don’t need to buy parts. All the 3D models will individually go on my Printables page!

11/26/2025 - Assembled 3d printed parts

Today, I put together the 3d printed parts. Using a 3d printed shaft because the metal one was too long. It spins really smooth and I thought it was real easy to assemble.