CEB Press Aluminum Baler

The application of GVCS tools are far-reaching. For example, the CEB press can be used as a generalized press for making bales of aluminum cans, and possibly steel cans for recycling in an induction furnace. This would make a great applied science project for students, especially with Power Cubes driven by a cordless drill.

See this video

Note that the finished block was about 20 lb.

We could do much better. This press appears to be no more than 1 ton of pressure. We have 20 tons on our CEB press, which can be fed with aluminum cans instead of soil, to make even more compact aluminum bricks. These can then be a realistic feedstock for induction furnace meltdown, but may require seeding with a pool of molten aluminum to start the melt. With sufficient pressure, it may be possible to melt the cans directly with induction.

Lesson

• Use the OSE CEB press to press aluminum cans into 4x6x12 inch blocks
• Use the OSE shredder to shred the aluminum cans to smaller particle size
• Great experiment for recycling programs.
• Simplified version could use a drill-driven Power Cute ($150 material cost) - and a $50 4" cylinder, for 1/2 the pressure per compression area. [1]
• The pressing could use a 4x4" tube, 1/2" wall, for 3.5" square bales.
• 100 lb of metal - $50. Valve - $100. Valve could also be made in a Hydraulic Valve Curriculum where you build your own MIG-Casting high pressure hydraulic valve for the aluminum baler for meltdown. Low cost experiments on the order of $2/lb of welding wire + 3D printing. Extremely exciting - if not for high schools - then for OSE Campus curriculum.
• Hydraulics workshop - piston-and-valves that are 3D printed, MIG-cast seamless tubing.