Building the Shredder Basic 3.3 & XL
Shredder Box Assembly
Required Tools
To complete this build you will need the following tools:
Rubber Mallet
12mm, 5mm, and 3mm Allen Key
17mm Spanner x 2
Required Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Safety Gloves
Frequently Asked Questions
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For those of you who don’t know, burrs are little lines that occur on the inside and outside of the laser cuts. For most of the pieces, you don’t have to worry, but some larger burrs may hinder the assembly process. If you wish, you can remove them with a file or sandpaper.
For any of the laser cuts that go on the two shafts. The Burrs must be aligned up with the slot on the shaft. -
Once assembled, you should be able to rotate the shredder shafts by hand, with ease. If you are struggling to do this, first check your alignment, ensuring no teeth are catching each other. Then, check that the shaft bolt is not over tightened.
Shredder Basic or XL
This build guide is suitable for both the shredder basic 3.3 and the shredder XL. The assembly procedure is almost the same, except for the fact that the XL is larger. This guide uses the Shredder Basic 3.3 to visualize the assembly. Whenever the assembly differs, a special XL step will be shown. These steps can be recognized by the italic text.
Before you begin
The manufacturing process might have left a rough edge or ridge on the laser cuts, also known as a burr. With a piece of sandpaper, file, or deburring tool, go over all the laser cuts and remove any noticeable burrs or rough edges.
Step 1
To assemble the shredder box, start with the shredder shaft.
Step 2
To assemble the shaft, slide the first blade onto heaxgonal part of the shaft. The blades are 5mm thick. The first blade, blade A, has a singular notch cut out of the hexagonal hole. Pay attention to the alignment of the blade and the shaft. The shaft has a short and a long round section. Start by sliding the first blade towards the short round section. See the image for the orientation of the blade.
Step 3
Slide a 6mm Hex Spacer onto the shaft.
Step 4
Slide the second blade onto the shaft. This blade, blade B, has 2 notches cut out of the hexagonal hole. Align the first notch of blade B with the notch of blade A. This will result in a small offset between the blades.
Step 5
Slide the second hex spacer onto the shaft.
Step 6
Slide the third blade onto the shaft. This blade, blade C, has 3 notches cut out of the hexagonal hole. Again, align the first notch of blade C with the first notch of blades A and B.
Step 7
Slide the next Hex Spacer onto the shaft.
Step 8
The next blade that has to be slid onto the shaft is again blade A. This blade has one notch cut out of it. Now, align the notch of blade A, with the second notch of blade C. This continues the offset pattern.
Step 9
Slide the next Hex Spacer onto the shaft.
Step 10
The next blade is again blade B, with 2 notches. Align the first notch again with the notch of blade A. This will continue the offset pattern.
Step 11 [3.3]
Continue alternating between a Hex spacer and a blade. After blade A (one notch), comes blade B (two notches) and then blade C (three notches). Continue until the whole hexagonal part of the shaft is filled. The last two blades are an A, and then a B.
Step 11 [
XL]
The XL version is assembled in the same way. Continue filling up the whole hexagonal section of the shaft, alternating between the blades and a hex spacer. The final blades are A, B and then C.
Step 12
Slide the rubber ring onto the shaft.
Step 13
Follow the rubber ring up with the 10mm shaft spacer.
Step 14
Lastly, slide a 1mm shaft shim/spacer onto the shaft.
Step 15
Do the same on the other side of the shaft. First, slide on the rubber ring.
Step 16
Slide on the 10mm shaft spacer.
Step 17
Lastly, slide the 1mm shaft shim/spacer onto the shaft.
Step 18 [3.3]
Check that all of the blades have been placed correctly. Each blade should have the same small offset. Check the image to ensure that everything has been placed correctly onto the shaft.
The shaft with the blades can be put aside for now.
Step 18 [XL]
For the XL version this step is the same. Check that all of the blades have been placed correctly. Each blade should have the same small offset. Check the image to ensure that everything has been placed correctly onto the shaft.
The shaft with the blades can be put aside for now.
Step 19
To assemble the box that surrounds the shaft, start with the bearing plates. Pay attention to the image to see how the plate should be oriented. The gap between the two teeth of the plate should be larger at the top, and the two
Step 20
Connect one of the bearings to the plate with two M14 x 25mm bolts, with an M14 washer on each. Again, make sure the orientation of the plate and the bearing is the same as in the image.
Step 21
Connect the second bearing to the other bearing plate with two M14 x 25mm bolts, with an M14 washer on each. However, keep the bolts loose (these will be tightened in a later step). Pay attention to the orientation of the plate and bearing, as it is different to the previous bearing plate. This plate should be a mirror of the first.
Step 22
Slide the first bearing plate (with the tight bolts) onto the longer round section of the shaft that was assembled earlier. Do not push the bearing plate all the way to the teeth as the plates in the next steps will be sandwiched between the two bearing plates.
(You may find it easier to slide the other bearing plate onto the other end of the shaft to support it. See Step 25.)
Step 23
With the bearing plate facing to the right, you are now looking at the front side of the shredder. On this side, press the front panel into the bearing plate, as can be seen in the image. Make sure the side with three tabs is pointing upwards, and the side with 4 tabs is pointing downwards.
On the Shredder Basic 3.3, the front panel has no holes in it. On the XL, neither the front nor rear panel have holes.
Step 24
Do the same with the back panel. Slide the 3 tabs into the bearing panel. The back panel has 4 small holes in it, these holes should be oriented towards the longer round shaft section, as can be seen in the image.
Step 25
Slide the second bearing panel onto the short end of the shaft, and press the front and back panels into the slots. Make sure the front of the bearing panel is aligned with the front of the box.
Step 26
The box can now be placed onto the base plate. Pay attention to the front of the plate. The front side has four rectangular holes cut out of it.
Step 27
Press the box into the baseplate.
Step 28
The bolts of the bearing can now be tightened.
Step 29
By tightening the bolts on the bearing, the blades should be neatly squished together. Don’t worry if they aren’t, as this will be addressed in a later step.
Step 30
Now the fixed blades will be inserted.
Step 31
Starting on the left side, slide in the first small fixed blade. The picture shows the shredder box from the rear, to give a better view of where the blade needs to be placed.
The point of the blade should be towards the top, facing the rotating blades of the shaft. The two holes in the fixed blade should align with the two holes in the bearing plate.
Step 32
The two holes in the fixed blade should align with the two holes in the bearing plate.
Step 33
Slide in the second fixed blade. This time, use a large fixed blade. This blade should be placed in between two of the rotating blades on the shaft.
Step 34
Slide in the second small fixed blade.
Step 35
Slide in a large fixed blade.
Step 36
Continue alternating between small and large fixed blades until all of the fixed blades have been placed into the shredder box. The bearing bolts might need to be loosened slightly to get the final blade to fit.
Step 36 [XL]
For the XL version this step is the same, except there are more fixed blades.
Step 37
Add two M10 washer to each of the two M10 x 200mm (XL: M10 x 270mm) bolts, then slide these through the bearing plates and through all the fixed teeth. These should be inserted from the right side, with the longer end of the shaft.
Step 39
Add two m10 washers and an m10 nut to the end of each of the bolts, and tigthen them down.
Now, try to move the fixed teeth slightly with your hands. You can try this with some force. If you are able to move the fixed blades, then follow step 40. If there is no movement, skip ahead to step 41.
Step 40
Only follow this step if, after tightening the two long M10 bolts, the fixed teeth are still loose (you can move the fixed blades by hand).
Remove the two M10 x 200mm (XL: M10 X 270mm) bolts. Add a 1mm fixed blade shim to one of the ends of the fixed blades. Use step 44 to determine on which side the shim has to be added.
Reattach the bolts with their washers and nuts.
Step 41
The Shredder box should now look something like this.
Step 42
Take the top panel and push it onto the top of the box. Pay attention to the front of the box, as it is not symmetrical.
Step 43
Take the four m10 x 160mm bolts and add a washer to each. Insert the bolts into the holes at the front and back of the box from below (placing the box on its side may make this easier). Add an M10 washer and nut to each bolt, and tighten. The box should now look something like the one in the picture.
The next steps will guide you through some scenarios to test and correct the alignment of the blades. Pay attention to these steps, as they are important to ensure the correct functioning of the shredder.
Step 44
Alignment of the blades: when rotating the shaft, the rotating blades should be in line with the middle of the fixed blades, and the shaft should rotate quietly. The alignment should look like the image on the far left.
If the alignment looks like one of the images to the right, then the alignment is not correct. This can be corrected by adding a shim on the side which pushes the blades towards the correct alignment. For example, if the rotating blades are contacting the fixed blades on the right hand side, place a shim on the left hand side of the fixed blades.
Step 45
Scenario 1: The blades or spacers on the shaft are too tight. This might be the case if one of the following applies:
It is very difficult to tighten the bolts of the bearing,
after tightening the bolts of the bearings, the shaft is difficult to turn,
the top panel does not fit because the bearing plates are too far out.
If this is the case, remove one of the shaft shims added in step 14 or 17. This can give the shaft a bit more room. If the blades then become too loose (you can move the blades by hand), see Step 47.
Step 46
Scenario 2: The shaft is not completely fixed, and you can slightly slide the shaft through the bearing.
First, make sure the bolts of both bearings have been tightened correctly. Next, remove one of the bearings and add a 1mm shaft shim/spacer to the shaft. Repeat this step until there is no more movement.
Step 47
Scenario 3: The rotating blades are too loose. The blades are too loose if you can move or rock the blades slightly by hand with some force.
Remove one of the bearings, the shaft shim(s), the 10mm shaft spacer, and the rubber ring. Add a hex spacer onto the hexagonal part of the shaft and add the rubber ring and spacers back on the shaft. Reattach the bearing. Repeat this step until the rotating blades are no longer loose.
Step 48
If necessary, repeat step 44 to align the rotating blades with the fixed blades.
Congratulations! Your shredder box is now complete and the blades should be aligned.