Fellowes AutoMaxª 350C Auto Feed Shredder

The AutoMax 350C is the first genuinely shared machine in Fellowes' auto-feed range: 350 sheets in the hopper, twelve through the manual slot, and an 18-gallon bin underneath.

It also handles a wider set of materials than the small AutoMax models — staples, paper clips, credit cards, CDs and DVDs and unopened junk mail are all on Fellowes' list. For a department that wants one device to absorb everything from the post tray to the drawer of obsolete software discs, that breadth is worth more than another hundred sheets of hopper capacity.

Key Features

• 350-sheet auto-feed hopper with a locking lid.
• Twelve-sheet manual feed slot through a 9-inch throat.
• DIN 66399 P-4 cross-cut at 5/32 x 1 1/2 in (about 4 x 38 mm, roughly 152 mm² per particle).
• Shreds staples, paper clips, credit cards, CDs and DVDs and junk mail — a far wider list than the 100M or 100MA.
• Eighteen-gallon pull-out bin, three times the small AutoMax models.
• SilentShred acoustic design for shared spaces.
• Shred speed of around 11 ft/min on manual feed.
• 32.06 x 15.38 x 22.75 in cabinet, 70 lb.

One caution on run time. Fellowes' published figures for this model are inconsistent: the product page describes shredding a hopper load and manual sheets over 45 minutes, while the operating manual for the 550C/350C specifies up to 8 minutes of continuous operation before a 30-minute cool-down is triggered. We cannot reconcile those, and we would rather show you both than pick the flattering one. Plan around the shorter figure for sustained manual feeding, and expect the auto-feed cycle to be the more forgiving mode. If duty cycle is the deciding factor in your purchase, the 550C is rated for continuous operation and removes the question entirely.

Specifications

Sheet ratings are Fellowes' figures for 8.5 x 11 in, 20 lb paper. Fellowes does not publish a decibel rating for this model, describing the acoustic design only as SilentShred, and does not publish a warranty term on the product page, so those rows are omitted.

What's in the Box

Shredder with auto-feed hopper, 18-gallon pull-out bin and power cord. 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.

Who Should Buy This — and Who Should Not

Buy the 350C for a small department that clears paper in scheduled batches and needs one machine to take everything: correspondence, stapled reports, expired cards and old discs. The 350-sheet hopper covers most single sessions, the 18-gallon bin means emptying is not constant, and the wide materials list removes the sorting step that kills adoption of any shared shredder.

Do not buy it if the machine will run more or less continuously. Fellowes' own documentation puts the sustained manual duty at eight minutes, and the AutoMax 550C — rated for continuous operation, with 550 sheets and a 22-gallon bin — is the model that answers that requirement. Do not buy it if you need P-5: the AutoMax 600M is the micro-cut machine in this range at roughly 28 mm². And for a single desk this is far more cabinet than required; the AutoMax 100M is the personal-scale option.