20 Most Recent Staples ID Armor IDX50B Shredder Questions & Answers

Your question, while it does state "parts," doesn't specify which parts. The reason why my answer isn't going to tell you, is because the "parts" can vary from the safety flap all the way to the motor that drives the shredder blades. My suggestion is that you find where you can be eco-friendly with the shredder's disposal and purchase a new one. If you are looking for a part that has anything to do with the workings of the shredder (blades, on/off switch, paper sensor motor), you are going to wind up spending almost as much as a new one would cost and perhaps even more. Plus you have to take into consideration, the time you would spend doing the repairs; surely your time is worth at least $10 an hour. You are most likely going to spend too much time making the repair. Believe me, I tried to fix one once (it was successful, just the "bellows" that expands to change the setting of the "normally off" micro-switch back to off) and it took me a couple of hours. Purchase a new one and forget about "saving" money by doing the repair yourself.

As for your first part - It sounds like there is something wrong with the switch lever that moves to complete the electrical circuit to start the shredder. On every shredder I have seen, there is a little "bellows" linked up to this lever that pushes it back so the machine will shut off. Most of the time all you have to do is put another piece of paper in and let that get shredded and the shredder will stop afterwards. If not, then just use the main switch to turn the shredder off. Second, the beeping during "mid-shred" sounds like a warning that the shredder is starting to overheat and shut down. If this is the case, just wait a few minutes to allow it to cool down and try to finish the shredding you have. I have found that if you feed a shredder a constant stream of paper to shred, this might cause the shredder to overheat. Also, the shredder may get overloaded with pieces of the shredded paper. Here is the way to check on that: 1. UNPLUG THE ELECTRICAL CORD FROM WHEREVER YOU HAVE IT PLUGGED IN. 2. Lift the shredder from the bin and turn it upside down. 3. Look for an excessive amount of paper in the bottom of the shredder. If there is a lot, you can remove it in several ways. (Most likely the bin is quite full at this point.) Pull the majority of it out and put it in the bin. If there are pieces of paper that you can pull out with your fingers, use a tool (needle-nose pliers, serrated tweezers, a hemostat, etc.) to get those difficult pieces out. Replace the unit on the bin making sure that it is the same way you took it off. In most cases (on the better shredders), there is a notch on the underside of the shredder that needs to be on top of a "nub" that is on the edge of the inside top of the bin. Unless that nub is aligned with the slot, the shredder will not work.

I believe that it could be one of two problems. First of all, and the painfully obvious one, do you have the red power switch in the on position. Try moving it to different settings to see if it does work at all. If it does, put the switch back in the center position and try shredding again. If it doesn't work, then you may have a faulty shredder. (This and the following are believing that you have a new shredder and you are trying to get it to work for the first time.) Second, if you lift the unit off the paper bin and look on the bin, you will see a slight protrusion, like a "tab." When you place the unit onto the bin, this tab must be aligned with a slot on the shredder unit; the slot will have a small strip of silver metal inside, it is part of the safety mechanism. If you are using a trash bag - to make for easier shredded paper disposal - you might have to use a bit of pressure to make sure the tab makes contact with the little piece of metal. You also may have to turn the shredder unit around 180 degrees and re-seat the unit. If it still doesn't work, call the service/warranty/support department and find out what you need to do next.

What do you mean? Does it not start up at all? Or does it start and hum, or do nothing?

How old is the shredder? Is it still under warranty? If it is old and past the warranty period, it may be that the On/Off switch needs to be replaced. Since it is "cleaned" and it works in reverse, it does sound like a switch. BUT... Since you may have "cleaned" the rollers, you may still have some paper jamming the blades/rollers. To check this out, you may have to open the unit. This is done by using, in most cases, a skinny Phillips head screw driver and removing the screws from each hole. I say a "skinny" screwdriver because the screws are usually rather far in the holes and you also need to make sure you remove them all. Lay each screw out in the pattern of the screw holes so you can replace them in the holes from which you removed them (some screws are of different length). Now carefully separate the halves of the unit and make sure to be aware of any wires that are connected to both parts. When this is done and the blades/rollers can be seen, check for paper that may still be present. You should be able to turn the blades/rollers by hand using the gears by the motor. If you can't do this, DO NOT use any tools to try to move them. Once you are sure that ALL the paper is removed, put the two halves back together and replace the screws. Make sure the halves are properly aligned before tightening the screws down. Once you have replaced the unit back onto the bin and it is properly seated, try it out. It should work. If not, decide on whether or not you want to try replacing the switch. At this point you may also decide if it is easier to just purchase a new one.

Hi Redraider55,

You can take the machine apart by removing 7 screws around the motor housing. The last screw is deep inside and hard to see. I have heard from people that the plastic bar that holds the sensor switch arm can be broken. If you can find the broken part and glue it back on, it will run fine if that's the problem.

Here is Staples customer service webpage if you need to find parts for it: http://www.staples.com/sbd/content/help/contact/index.html?cm_sp=merchandising-_-customer%20service%20tab-_-contact%20us

Hope this helps. If it does, I'd appreciate a 4 thumbs up. Thanks,

Handie Andie

Mine does that when it jams, or overheats. Try toggling the switch between forward and reverse to clear any jam. If that doesn't work, you can unplug the unit, turn it over, and remove jammed paper with needle nose pliers.If there is no jam, try letting it cool for a while and then try in the reverse position.

Hi,
Have seen many people looking for parts for these small shredders here on fixya....have not seen that you can buy parts anywhere yet...
They really don't want you to fix them I think, they want you to chuck it and buy new...

heatman101