Prototype on Youtube

This project is a work in progress. It uses Chainsaw blade sections wrapped around the original belt drive shaft powered by a cheap $20 craigslist treadmill. Only the frame that houses the motor, belt and belt pully set on top of an appropriately sized plastic tote is used . The original electronics are being used (minus the original faulty motherboard that had digital motor speed control which has since been replaced with a 15K ohm rheostat hooked directly to the motor PWM controller board)...An early prototype blade shredded milk jugs like no tomorrow but the blade design was out-of-round and the spacing was too far in places, too narrow and sometimes too loose . The blade needs a better shear edge. By this I mean the blades need to bypass into a close tolerance surface so the plastic being shredded doesnt get sucked between the blades and the frame. The original shear was a pine 2X4 which worked for a proof-of-concept but will now be a piece of HDPE carved by the teeth themselves and secured firmly to the ends of the treadmill frame. Pretty much any electric treadmill will work for this project. So far I have one with a 49mm belt drive shaft and one with a 42mm belt driveshaft. I am in the process of drawing up a chain holder for the 42mm drive shaft that will 1) keep the chain concentric 2) allow the chain to be cut and fastened back together (like it is supposed to be rather than cut short and wired together)and still fit the shaft correctly 3) secure the drive cogs of the chain and 4) keep consistent spacing between blades. The best way to secure the chain is with a 3d printed chain adapter. I have made a rough draft model of the chain adapter by scanning the chain loop at the proper diameter to clear the motor pulley on the end. This will make it easier to make a one piece shear that doesnt have to be notched for the pulley. The chain was cut and linked back together at the proper I.D. and slid onto a spray-paint can lid with piece of wood inside that had a 42mm hole . I then scanned it, converted to a raster image with inkscape, and converted to an STL file and progress is slow. I am using bulk Carlton A3-S100 .063 GUAGE CHIPPER CHAIN I bought off Ebay and it is very promising but I think any chainsaw blade would work.