International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)

ISSN: 2319-7064
Index Copernicus Value (2016): 79.57 | Impact Factor (2017): 7.296

Utilization of Upgraded Shredder Blade and

Recycling the Waste Plastic and Rubber Tyre
Sekar L.R.1, Vinoth Kumar S2
1
Student, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rajalakshmi Engineering College, Thandalam, Chennai-602105, India
2
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rajalakshmi Engineering College, Thandalam, Chennai-602105, India

Abstract: The purpose of this project is to realize the importance of plastic shredder for what they serve, realize that the work can get
done faster and more efficient when plastics are crushed. The use of machinery is critical for business that is why this machine will be
elaborated in order to have more efficient performance for the company and make plastic garbage more effective at the time of
operation. The shredder blade is optimized for better grinding of the plastic waste into fine grained particles. It requires less labor work
and there is no requirement skilled labor in industry. In recycling, process of plastic waste required low energy due to compact form of
plastic waste. It reduces the process time in industry. The machine used in this project is less of cost and thus the project is a cost
effective one.

Keywords: Plastic waste, Shredding, Thermoplastic, Thermosetting, Incineration .

1. Introduction characteristics of the shredder blade. [3] The following block

diagram indicates the order of design and fabrication process
Plastics are synthetic organic materials produced by that has been carried in the optimization of shredder blade.
polymerization. They are typically of high molecular mass
and may contain other substances besides polymers to
improve performance and or reduce costs. These polymers
can be moulded or extruded into desired shapes. Among the
two types of plastics, Thermoplastics can repeatedly soften
and melt if enough heat is applied and hardened on cooling,
so that they can be made into new plastics products. [1]
Thermosetting plastics can melt and take shape only once.
They are not suitable for repeated heat treatments, therefore
after they have solidified, they stay solid. Depending on their
structures the pre-treatment equipment used for each type of
plastic (crushing or shredding) is often different. The
recycling of a virgin plastic material can be done 2-3 times
only, because, after every recycling, the strength of plastic Figure 1: Flow Chart for Fabrication Processes
material is reduced due to thermal degradation. In India
approximately 12 Million tonnes plastic products are
consumed every year (2012) which is expected to raise 20
3. Literature Survey
million tonnes by 2020. [2] Since this consumption is rising
The method of shredding the plastic is not a recent discovery,
higher and higher, the shredding is more upgraded to make
similar to other fields the shredding of plastic has come
this process easier. Industrial shredding is a process used for
across a large up-gradations. The first-generation shredders
reducing the size of all kinds of materials that area
are those where the transmission mechanism is driven by a
considered to be scrap. The Industrial shredders come in
belt with low noise. Then in the second generation of
many different design variations and many sizes based on the
shredders are those where, plastic gear rolls, because it is
requirements. Though the size of the blades and the machines
difficult to master injection and shrinking process accurately
varies, the shape of the blades remind unchanged. The
of the shredder machine, resulting in the low accuracy of the
following is the new design of the shredder blade and
gear itself. [4] The third-generation shredders are those
analyses of the blade.
where the metal sprocket is used. Here the operation is quiet,
the loss of energy is low, the efficiency of cutting is much
2. Methodology high, and the perfect coordination of the various components
of the system achieve the compelling features. Fourth
This project is based on the idea to shred waste plastics for generation of shredders is those where the drive mechanism
easy processing and disposal. Initially the shredding blade is of shredder machine is the metal gear, although the metal
designed in CAD and then the manufacturing process is gear so overcome the above drawbacks, it is difficult to avoid
carried on. The blade design of the shredder is designed for the impact of metal gear and friction sound. Then during the
conventional cutting of the waste plastics and their easy fifth generation of shredders the diamond snug movement, it
disposal. Later the manufactured blade is being analysed in takes use of alloy steel materials, quenching process of metal
the analyses software for the theoretical results of the
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Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY
Paper ID: ART2019736 DOI: 10.21275/ART2019736 160
 International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)
ISSN: 2319-7064
Index Copernicus Value (2016): 79.57 | Impact Factor (2017): 7.296
tool, completely CNC machining technology, and the
workmanship guarantee transmission installation accuracy.
[5] The sixth generation of shredders which are the modern
shredders which are used to break down the high technology
content like CD-ROM, floppy disk, tape, video, etc. and the
embedded button panel with a protective film ensure the
function of the way forward, rewind, and stop. But in the case
of modern shredders the motor used is large in size; there is a
frequent wear out of the shredder blade. Thus, this project
gives the solution of those problems.

4. Designing Parameters of Shredder Blade

The design of the plastic shredder blade comprises an S Figure 3: Drafted image of the Single Shredder Blade
shape blade body with a center hole for mounting the blade
on a rotating shaft. The circular body of the blade has two The above image (Fig.2) shows the design of the Single part
serrated cutting edges. The circular blade body integrally of the shredder blade in the CATIA software. This blade has
formed from the base material. The serrated cutting edges are a new improved design than the existing blades. [9] This
also formed from the base material. [6] The serrated edge is shredder blade that has two ends is easier to manufacture and
formed by the laser cutting process. This laser cutting process has less problems of wearing out when compared to the other
is carried out since the edges are difficult to be processed in blades. Since there is a series of blades used in the shredder
the machining processes. The serrated cutting edge has a machine there is a better result in the shredding of the wastes.
front face cut from the periphery of the blade body, such that The other image (Fig.3) shows the drafted image of the single
the width of the cutting edge is larger than the thickness of shredder blade. The dimension of the blade has been added
the blade body. [7] The front face and the bottom face of the for the betterment of the fabrication process.
serrated cutting edge are 80-100 degrees bent from the
periphery of the blade body. It is known that the circular 6. Upgradation in the Blade Design
blade body has at least one annular protrusion around the
hole. The width of the annular protrusion is equal to that of In the previous versions of blades there are many cutting
the front face of the serrated cutting edge. Each blade has a edges. The reason behind this many numbers of cutting edges
circular blade body and two serrated cutting edges of one is to shred the scrap at a high speed. But the drawbacks in
blade are kept in contact with the counterpart of the other these blades are that the edges when striking a harder surface
blade of a same set, but at some angle of inclination from the by chance which is not up to its range of hardness, the blade
axes. [8] Whereas, in the blades of previous versions, each neither cuts nor ignores the scrap without cutting. Rather the
blade has a circular blade body and serrated edges, and the blade strikes the hard surface of the scrap first and then
circular blade body and serrated edges of one blade in kept in reverses itself in the direction of the rotation of motion and
contact with the counterpart of the other blade of a same set. then strikes again the same surface. [10] This action of the
shredder blade may result in the delay of the shredding
5. CAD Modeling of Shredder Blade process or the scrap passing through the blade may be left
uncut. The reversing action of the blade may also damage the
The shredder blade that has been designed by us is created as cutting edges of the blades. Thus, in order to avoid these
a model and rendered in one of the designing software known problems, the design of the shredding blade is being
as CATIA by Dassault Systems. The rendered and the drafted upgraded. In the upgraded blade there are only two cutting
image of the designed shredder blade are as following. edges. These two cutting edges which have a larger surface
area for the cutting process, acts on the blade with a high
force. This high force acting on the scrap enables betterment
in the process of shredding. Since the surface area for the
shredding process is high in these blades, the grabbing force
is much higher in this case. This force enables the better
shredding result than any other blade that is being used
currently. Since the blade is made with the Tool Steel
material the hardness of the blade is default high in value. In
addition to this, the blade undergoes Chromium or Nickel
coating. [12] This coating on the surface of the blade
enhances the hardness property to increase the effectiveness
of the shredding of the blade. The shredder machines of
Figure 2: Image of the Single Shredder Blade previous versions are of the type which consists of many
cutting edges but with less number of blades. But in this type
in order to increase the shredding results, increased number
of blades with two cutting edges are used as shown in the
Fig.4. The previous versions of the shredder machines are
those that have six to eight stages of the shredder blades. But
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Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY
Paper ID: ART2019736 DOI: 10.21275/ART2019736 161
 International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)
ISSN: 2319-7064
Index Copernicus Value (2016): 79.57 | Impact Factor (2017): 7.296
these shredder blades have multiple cutting edges. These blades. The dimension of the blade has been added for the
blades may have advantage at a side, but major drawbacks at betterment of the fabrication process.
the other end. In order to overcome these drawbacks, here in
this blade, the number of stages is increased to 14 stages. 8. Analyses of the Designed Blade
This increase in number of stages enables us to have a large
area for shredding process. [13] This number of stages has The designed blade and the assembled blades with the shaft
been increased not only to have more shredding area, but also are analyzed by the help of the Ansys software. The
to equate the loss of cutting edges that has been reduced in individual blade is analyzed by the static structural method.
each blade. In addition to these designing, the material Initially the blade is meshed by tetrahedral meshing type for
property has also been increased. The hardening process more accuracy. [15] The blade is meshed and then the
carried out during the treatment of the blade increases the parameters such as Friction Coefficient of the blade, Feed
strength of the blade. The mild steel heat- treated to the high ratio, Dynamic Coefficient, Motor Power and specific cutting
hardness necessary for a shredder blade is very strong. This force are applied. The properties of the material of the blade
can be ten times stronger than the other grades of mild steel. are preselected and then the conditions of the shredding
The structural steel or mild steel (HRC 60) used for general process such as properties of the scrap are applied. [16] The
construction has a tensile strength of 35,000 pounds per static structural method gives the stress, strain acting on the
square inch. The hardened mild steel at HRC 60 has a tensile body and the total deformation of the body when it comes in
strength about 3, 50,000 pounds per square inch. This contact with the material that is to be shredded.
increase in the tensile strength increases the hardness of the
material. This hard material has high ability of shredding the Table 1: Results obtained by Static structural method
material. Maximum Minimum
Result
Value Value
7. Assembly of the Shredder Blades Stress (Equivalent von-Mises) 2.4734e6 Pa 0.0021333 Pa
Strain (Equivalent Elastic Strain) 1.2441e-5 1.0838e14
The shredder blades that are designed in the CATIA software Total Deformation 4.0321e-6 m 0m
are assembled by mounting them in a series on the shaft. This
assembly of the shredder blade series is shown in the image
which is as following.

Figure 6: Stress on the blade by static structural method

Figure 4: Assembly of the Shredder Blades in Series

Figure 7: Strain on the blade by static structural method

The above figures are the result obtained by the static

Figure 5: Drafted Series of Shredder Blade assembly structural analyzing method using the software. The stress
acts on the tip of the cutting edge at a small range. Thus, the
The above image (Fig.4) shows the design of the series of the strain on the blade is much less as shown in the figure which
shredder blade in the CATIA software. This blade has a new is obtained by the hardened properties of the blade material.
improved design than the existing blades. [14] Since there is [17] This strain value is much more reduced by hardening
a series of blades used in the shredder machine there is a method and chrome plating processes. The following figure
better result in the shredding of the wastes. The other image shows the deformation of the blade which is comparatively
(Fig.5) shows the drafted image of the series of shredder
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Paper ID: ART2019736 DOI: 10.21275/ART2019736 162
 International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)
ISSN: 2319-7064
Index Copernicus Value (2016): 79.57 | Impact Factor (2017): 7.296
reduced by increasing the properties of the blade. This results
in the life span of the blade.

Figure 10: Turning of Our Shaft

9.3 Surface Grinding

Surface grinding which is the most common of the grinding

Figure 8: Total Deformation by the static structural method operations. It is a finishing process that uses a rotating
abrasive wheel to smooth the flat surface of metallic or non-
9. Fabrication Process metallic materials. This will also attain a desired surface for a
functional purpose. Here the surface grinding is done to the
9.1 Laser Cutting shredder blade which removes the oxide layer on the surface
of the blade which avoids the rusting of the iron used. This
Laser cutting is mainly a thermal process in which a focused grinding operation also removes the impurities on the work
laser beam is used to melt material in a localized area. The piece surface.
laser optics and CNC (computer numerical control) are used
to direct the material or the laser beam generated. The 9.4 Welding
focused laser beam is directed at the material, which then
either melts, burns, vaporizes away, or is blown away by a jet Welding is a material joining process which produces
of gas, leaving an edge with a high-quality surface finish. coalescence of materials by heating them to suitable
[18] The CO2 laser which is capable of cutting, boring, and temperatures with or without the application of pressure or by
engraving, this is used to cut the typical edges if the shredder the application of pressure alone, and with or without the use
blade. The reason of Laser cutting done to this that, when the of filler material. [20] Here in this machine welding is used
blade undergoes other machining processes, the material for making permanent joints between the shaft and the
properties tend to change. This also results in the reduction of shredder blade. [21] Arc welding is a type of welding that is
wear resistance. But when the blade is being cut by the Laser used with a welding power supply to create an electric arc
cutting method, the property of the material of blade remains between an electrode and the shredder to melt the metals at
unchanged. the welding point.

10. Shredding Process

The shredding process which is the type of cutting down the
scrap by running the blade at a fixed speed which is being
run by the motor which is coupled with the reduction motor.
But it is hard to cut down the plastic directly by the shredder
blades with small serrated edges. From the time of invention
Figure 9: Laser Cutting Operation of the shredding process the scrap such as plastic is being
processed by some treatment to bring down the strength of
9.2 Polygonal Turning Operation the plastic to the level of being cut-down easily. The
following are the processes carried out before shredding
Turning is a machining process in which a cutting tool, process: Incineration, Autoclaving, Shredding. But the
typically a non-rotary tool bit describes a helix tool path by process of incineration and autoclaving reduces the quality of
moving more or less linearly while the work piece rotates. the product that is to be shredded. [22] In order to reduce the
There are many turning operations in lathe. [19] The method variation in quality during the shredding process, the serrated
we used in our project is a polygonal turning in which non- edges made with increased surface area and hard tool steel.
circular forms are machined without interrupting the rotation The thickness of the blade is not more than 5mm. Thus, the
of the raw material. shredded pieces that are obtained after shredding are less
than or equal to 5mm thickness.

Since these pieces are equal to or less than 5mm in size, there
is not need to treat the products with heat, which do not
reduce the quality of the material. [23] Thus, these pieces can
be directly fed into the injection moulding machine. This

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Paper ID: ART2019736 DOI: 10.21275/ART2019736 163
 International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)
ISSN: 2319-7064
Index Copernicus Value (2016): 79.57 | Impact Factor (2017): 7.296
doesn’t use high temperature on the products, which result in [11] Van Canegehem, J., Mass balance for POPs in a real
a good quality product after the moulding process. This scacle fludized bed combustor co-incinerating
process enables to use the recycled product many times than automotive shredder residue, J.Hazard Mater., vol. 181,
before, since the grade doesn’t very much. no.1-3, pp.827-835, 2010.
[12] Krajcarz, D., Comparison metal water jet cutting with
11. Conclusion laser and plasma cutting, in Procedia Engineering, 2014,
vol.69, pp. 838-843.
The plastic shredder machine is widely used in industries for [13] Konrad, W., Claus, D., Marcel, H., and Christian, W.,
the plastic waste management. By using this plastic shredding Laser prepared cutting tools, in Procedia Engineering,
machine, the overall costing of recycling process gets 2014, vol.69, pp. 240-248.
reduced. The new design of the blade that is shown above [14] Wang, Y.N., and Huang, J.C., Texture analysis in
increases the efficiency of the plastic shredding. The life time hexagonal materials, Materials Chemistry and Physics,
of this design of the blade is much higher than the previous vol. 81, no.1, pp. 11-26, 2003.
designs of blades that is being used currently. In recycling [15] Jordan Reduction Solutions, Heavy Duty Granulators,
process of plastic, waste required low energy due to compact http://www.jordanreductionsolutions.com
form of plastic waste. This new design of blade reduces the [16] Duchnicz, Wasielewski Computational method for
process time considerably than the other blades. As this Determining the Static stiffness of the Saw Blade,
blade has more resistance against the deformation and Computers and Industrial Engineering, vol.57, pp. 245-
principal stresses than the previous designs, this serves as a 252, 2009.
better part in the shredder machine. [17] Charles Ponton, B., Finite Element Analysis of Industrial
Circular Saw blade,
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[1] Winslow, G.R., Liu, S.X., and Yester, S.G., Study of [18] Jordan Reduction Solutions, Plastic Shredder- Shredder
Plastic Material Recovery from Automotive Shredder & Grinding Solutions for Plastics,
Residue, SAE Tech. Pap., 1998. http://www.jordanreductionsolutions.com/blog/the-
[2] Halpin, S., They’re Plastic, but they Recycle, Neuron, difference-between-shredding-grinding-and-granulating/
vol.52, no.5. pp.746-748, 2006. [19] Hajra Choudary, S.K., Hajra Coudary, A.K., Nirijhar,
[3] Deng, L., Ghosn, M., and Shao, S., Development of a Third Edition, Elements of Workshop Technology,
Shredding genetic algorithm for structural reliability, 2017.
Struct. Saf., vol. 27, no.2, pp.113-131, 2005. [20] Suresh Parekar, R., Strength of Materials, Second
[4] Umeda, Y., Fukushige, S., Kunii, E., and Matsuyama, Edition, Nirali Prakashan, 2013.
Y., LC-CAD: A CAD system for life cycle design, CIRP [21] Rao, P.N., Manufacturing Technology. Fourth Edition,
Ann.- Manuf. Technology, vol. 61, no.2, pp. 113-131, McGraw Higher Ed, 2017.
2005. [22] Anup, Goel., Sabharwal, Engineering Material and
[5] Senthilkumar, T., Manian, R., and Kathirvel, K., Effort Metallurgy, Fifth Edition, Technical Publications, 2014.
of blade and operational parameters on shredding [23] Khurmi, R.S., Gupta, J.K., Theory of Machines, Ninth
efficiency of an experimental cotton stalk shredder, Edition, Tata McGraw Hill Publications, India, 2018
AMA, Agric. Mech. Asia, Africa Lat. Am, vol.42, no.3,
pp.9-13, 2011. Author Profile
[6] Pasel, C., and Wanzl, W., Experimental investigations
on reactor scale-up and optimisation of product quality Sekar L R is a student pursuing his Bachelor of
Engineering in Department of Mechanical Engineering
in pyrolysis of shredder waste, Fuel Process.
from Rajalakshmi Engineering College, Chennai,
Technologies, vol. 80, no.1, pp. 47-67, 2003. Tamil Nadu, India. He has published papers titled
[7] Lazar, M.B., and Xirouchakis, P., Mechanical load Design and Fabrication of Ferromagnetic Suspension for
distribution along the main cutting edges in drilling, J. Automobiles and Design and Optimization of Plastic Shredder
Mater. Process. Technologies, vol.213, no.2, pp. 245- Blade in journals and has presented them in difference conferences
260, 2013. held at Kingston Engineering College, Vellore, India and Anna
[8] Koehl, M.A.R., Silk, W.K., Liang, H., and Mahadevan, University, Chennai, India respectively. He has done internships in
L., How kelp produce blade shapes suited to different Brakes India Pvt. Ltd and Nokia Communications and Networks,
flow regimes: A new rinkle, in Integrative and India. He has been a part of the Baja team of his college. He was the
Captain of Suspension Subsystem of his college Baja Team named
Comparative Biology, 2008, vol.48, no.6, pp. 834-851. “Redline Racing” which was placed 6th position in 2018. His
[9] Xue, W., Gao, S., Duan, D., Wang, L., Liu, Y., Li, S., research interests include manufacturing, simulation, optimization,
Study on the high-speed rubbing ear behaviour between automotive, and designing. He is an active member of IIW, SAE.
Ti6AAl4V blade and nickel-graphite abradable seal
coating, J.Tribol, vol.139, no.2, 2017. Vinoth Kumar S is a Professor in Department of
[10] Abdelrhman, A.M., Leong, M.S., Hee, L.M., and Hui, Mechanical Engineering from Rajalakshmi
K.H., Vibration Analysis of Multi stages Rotor for Blade Engineering College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. He
Faults Diagonsis, Adv. Mater. Res., vol.845, pp. 133- graduated his Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical
137, 2013. from Sri Balaji Chochalingam Engineering College, Arni,
Thiruvannamalai, India in 2008. He graduated his M.Tech degree in
CAD/CAM from Dr. MGR University, Chennai, India in 2013. He
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Paper ID: ART2019736 DOI: 10.21275/ART2019736 164
 International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)
ISSN: 2319-7064
Index Copernicus Value (2016): 79.57 | Impact Factor (2017): 7.296
has published papers titled Design and Fabrication of
Ferromagnetic Suspension for Automobiles and Optimization of
Plastic Shredder Blade in various International Journals which were
presented in various International Conferences. He is the
coordinator of Indian Institute of Welding in his college. He has
organized various technical programs through this technical society.
He is expertise in the field of Engineering Designing. He is also in
process of research works in the field of Laser cutting and
Weldding.

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Paper ID: ART2019736 DOI: 10.21275/ART2019736 165