Make a Cyclette Shredder
SHREDDER
OTHER MACHINE
In this step-by-step guide, we'll walk you through the process of building your very own plastic shredder powered by a bicycle. The cyclette shredder is perfect for shredding small objects, like caps or bottles, but it's not recommended to run your recycle operations with it.
So the best way to use the cyclette shredder would be in educational workshops and events, as it is a fun, engaging and interactive machine.
*For the first 6 months the build files will be available to Precious Plastic supporters ♥️ on Patreon
Browse Files
Table of Contents
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We're thrilled to announce the release of the Cyclette Shredder machine, a collaboration between [filtered] and [filtered] Torino 🤝 ♥️ This is a major milestone for the community!
Open sourcing a whole new machine doesn't come free unfortunately, the total costs was around 600€ (materials, time and transportation). For 6 months (until February 2024), the full blueprint of the machine will be available to [filtered] supporters on Patreon. After, it will be free and open source on this how-to. Forever. For anyone.
[filtered] Supporter? You can become a [filtered] supporter on Patreon for 7,5€ per month to support our work at patreon.com: patreon.com/one_army
This will also give you:
- ♥️ badge on the community
- early access (Youtube, posts, downloads)
- voting power
- social media crediting (Youtube & IG),
- A badge and sticker
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The tools needed to build your cyclette shredder are:
- Old Cyclette (ATALA): you can find one in second hand stores
- Steel Laser cutted parts for the frame
- Plexiglass laser cutted for protection and the box above
- Bicycle chain and gear
- A shredder block
- Other stuff to customize (bike pedal, bike knob, spray paint)
- 3
Frame
You will need to remove:
- All the plastic parts for cleaning + any other parts you would like to customize.
- The metal part shown in the picture, and you will not use it again
- The speed cable shown in the picture, and you will not use it again
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We've made a video with [filtered] that talks about how [filtered] Torino makes the cyclette shredder!
Give it a watch :)
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Feel free to paint it as you like, you can get inspired by the pictures below!
Happy shredding :)
The bicycle-powered plastic shredder combines recycled exercise equipment with custom components for educational use. Below are the essential components categorized by type:
Hardware
- Old exercise bike (ATALA model)
- Laser-cut steel frame parts
- Laser-cut plexiglass protection shield and collection box
- Standard bicycle chain and gear mechanism
- Industrial-grade shredder block
Software
- Machine blueprints (Patreon access)
Tools & Customization
- Paint supplies for surface finishing
- Replacement bicycle pedal and adjustment knob
- Basic workshop tools (unspecified in source)
Costs for materials and development exceeded €600, with Patreon supporters receiving exclusive early access to technical documentation. The design prioritizes modular components compatible with standard exercise bikes found in Italian second-hand markets.
Articles
- https://hscprojects.com/diy-bicycle-powered-food-waste-shredder-and-compost-maker/
- https://www.designboom.com/technology/precious-plastic-dave-hakkens-recycling-workshop-06-02-2014/
- https://preciousplasticplymouth.co.uk/pedal-powered-shredder/
YouTube
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxz3nAcZquY
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDGFrDOjn6A
Open-source Designs
- https://community.preciousplastic.com/library/build-a-bicycle-powered-shredder
- https://community.preciousplastic.com/library/make-a-cyclette-shredder
- https://www.instructables.com/Low-Cost-Plastic-Shredder/
- https://docs.specollective.org/introduction/our-work/research-and-development/open-source-recycling
Manuals
- http://formax.com/sites/formax.com/files/FD%2087%20Plasti%20Op%20Manual.pdf