Fellowes AutoMaxª 600M Auto Feed Shredder

The AutoMax 600M is the machine to specify when a department needs auto-feed convenience and a written P-5 security level at the same time. Six hundred sheets go in the hopper, a 1.53 hp continuous-duty motor drives a micro-cut head at roughly 5/64 by 35/64 inches, and Fellowes rates a full load at nine to ten minutes.

That particle works out at about 2 by 14 mm, roughly 28 mm² — genuinely inside the 30 mm² DIN 66399 sets for P-5, rather than marketing language borrowed from the class. It is the only AutoMax model where the micro-cut label survives the arithmetic.

Key Features

• Genuine DIN 66399 P-5 at approximately 5/64 x 35/64 in (about 2 x 14 mm, roughly 28 mm² per particle).
• 600-sheet auto-feed hopper, cleared in nine to ten minutes according to Fellowes.
• 1.53 hp continuous-duty motor. No cool-down cycle to plan around.
• Fourteen-sheet manual feed slot through a 9-inch throat.
• Shreds paper, CDs and DVDs, credit cards, paper clips, staples and unopened junk mail — the full list, unusual on a P-5 machine.
• 22-gallon pull-out bin, and micro-cut waste packs better than cross-cut so it goes further than the number suggests.
• Patented AccuFeed mechanism, auto-reverse jam prevention and a two-minute sleep mode; an optional SmartLock is available.
• Two-year machine warranty with seven years on the cutters, rated for three to five users.

The maintenance requirement is the part people underestimate. A micro-cut head running at continuous duty generates a great deal of fine paper dust, and dust in the cutters is what makes a shredder start refusing loads it handled easily when new. Oil this machine every time the bin is emptied, using Fellowes part 35250, and treat that as a scheduled task rather than a discretionary one. A P-5 machine that is not maintained will not stay a P-5 machine for long in practical terms.

Specifications

Sheet ratings are Fellowes' figures for 8.5 x 11 in, 20 lb paper. Fellowes describes the acoustic design as SilentShred but publishes no decibel figure, so no noise row is shown.

What's in the Box

Shredder with auto-feed hopper, 22-gallon pull-out bin and power cord; the SmartLock is a separate accessory. Fellowes specifies its own non-aerosol vegetable-based shredder oil, part 35250, and asks that the machine be oiled each time the waste bin is emptied. Aerosol lubricants must not be used in any shredder. On a micro-cut head at continuous duty, treat oiling as scheduled maintenance rather than an occasional job.

Who Should Buy This — and Who Should Not

Buy the 600M when a policy names P-5 and the volume is departmental. HR, payroll, clinical administration, claims handling and legal support teams all commonly work to that level, and this is the largest auto-feed machine Fellowes offers that genuinely meets it. The continuous-duty motor means the higher security costs nothing in throughput, and the materials list means discs and cards do not need a second machine.

Do not buy it if nobody has specified P-5 in writing. The AutoMax 550C is the same cabinet, same bin and same continuous duty at P-4 cross-cut, and it will satisfy most ordinary commercial destruction policies for less. Do not buy it for one or two people — at 136 lb and rated for three to five users, it is a departmental purchase. And if you need P-6 or P-7, no auto-feed machine reaches those levels; the Fortishred HS-440 is Fellowes' answer, and it takes four sheets at a time.