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2011

Design of Solar-Powered Corn Grinding Machine

MEE 522 DESIGN PROJECT

Design of Solar-Powered Corn Grinding Machine 2011

Department of Mechanical Engineering University of Benin

Design of a Solar Powered Corn Grinding Machine

By

September 2011

Department of Mechanical Engineering Uniben

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Design of Solar-Powered Corn Grinding Machine 2011

Table of Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 1 The Corn Grinder................................................................................................................................. 2 The Components of the Grinding Machine......................................................................................... 2 The Solar Panel.................................................................................................................................... 3 How the Panel Works...................................................................................................................... 4 Economic Importance of the Solar-Powered Corn Grinding Machine ............................................... 5 Literature Review .................................................................................................................................... 7 Design (CONCEPTUAL DESIGN , DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS, POWER CALCULATIONS AND COST ANALYSIS) .......... 9 Isometric Diagram of the Corn Grinding Machine ............................................................................ 10 3D View of the Machine.................................................................................................................... 11 The Design Concept .......................................................................................................................... 12 The Solar Power System ................................................................................................................... 12 The Solar Panel.............................................................................................................................. 13 Solar Regulators ............................................................................................................................ 14 The Battery Bank ........................................................................................................................... 14 Power Inverter .............................................................................................................................. 15 Design Considerations ...................................................................................................................... 15 Power Calculations............................................................................................................................ 16 Solar Panel Rating ......................................................................................................................... 17 Cost Analysis ..................................................................................................................................... 19 Economic Analysis ................................................................................................................................. 20 Registration (Business Name) ........................................................................................................... 20 Obtaining Licenses, Permits and approvals ...................................................................................... 21 Selection of Technology .................................................................................................................... 21 Advertisement .................................................................................................................................. 22

Department of Mechanical Engineering Uniben

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Design of Solar-Powered Corn Grinding Machine 2011

Chapter One
Introduction
Corn is a cereal grain and or maize is a common name for cereal grass widely grown for food and livestock fodder. It is a natural source of protein as well as a source of carbohydrates and is made into many different kinds of foods. It is a staple food in Nigeria and serves as a rich source of carbohydrate for both man and livestock; as it can be used to prepare corn starches for both man and animals. Corn can be grounded either wet to produce paste, or dry to produce corn flour depending on the intended use. It is better to carry out this process with the use of electricity to power the corn grinding machine due to the over-dependence on petroleum fuel (which generates carbon waste to the atmosphere). This carbon waste generation is reduced and a cleaner means of carrying out this process is established. And as a result of the unstable power supply in the country an alternative means of power source is considered here using solar panels to power the grinding machine which is cleaner and environmental friendly.

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Design of Solar-Powered Corn Grinding Machine 2011

The Corn Grinder


A grinder is a machine for producing fine particle size reduction through attrition and compressive forces at the grain size level and this requires a lot of energy. The corn grinder makes flour or paste (when mixed with water) out of corn and is a machine that is designed to grind corn with the use of stone grinder and is powered by a solar panel which is a much cleaner source of powering the grinding machine and on a long run more economical.

The Components of the Grinding Machine


The corn grinder was designed to be simple with fewer components making it a cheaper option to the normal corn grinding machines available. The machine comprises of the following components: The Hopper: this is a large funnel shaped dispenser or container for storing and dispensing the grain into the grinder. Shaft: this is a rotating part used to transmit torque required in grinding the corn from the motor to the grinder. Grinder: this is the tool that performs the grinding. The grinder used in the machine is a stone grinder. Stone grinders have two circular grinding stones. One stone turns against a stationary stone. Grooves are cut into the stone

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Design of Solar-Powered Corn Grinding Machine 2011

radiating out from the centre of the stone to the ends. These grooves become shallower as they near the ends of the stone, until they disappear at the outer edges. When grain is ground, it falls through a channel into the centre of the two stones. As the stone rotates, it pulls the grain out through the channels where it is ground. The flour falls out the outer edges of the two stones. The Motor: is the machine that converts electrical energy into rotary motion and is used to drive the shaft which in turn rotates the grinder to grind the corn. Bearing: this serves as housing for the shaft and it also supports the load of the shaft thus reducing the weight acting on the motor from the shaft. Feeder: Grounded or processed corn is collected from the feeder. Knob: this is used to adjust the spacing between the grinding stones to determine the smoothness of the grinding. Base: this serves as a support for the machine.

The Solar Panel


Solar radiation is a general term for the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the sun. We can capture and convert solar radiation into useful forms of

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Design of Solar-Powered Corn Grinding Machine 2011

energy, such as heat and electricity, using a variety of technologies but in this case we are converting to electricity. The basic principle of solar energy is that every location on Earth receives sunlight at least part of the year. The amount of solar radiation that reaches any one "spot" on the Earth's surface varies according to these factors:

Geographic location Time of day Season Local landscape Local weather

In this case we are capturing the energy from the sun using solar panel and converting to electricity.

How the Panel Works As the sunlight strikes the silicon cells in the panel, it excites the electron which are knocked free to form electric current, metal contact points carry the current away and completes the circuit. This power is then transferred to a rectifier (solar regulator or charge controller) and to a battery which stores the

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Design of Solar-Powered Corn Grinding Machine 2011

charge or current and then to an inverter which converts the DC voltage to AC voltage.

Economic Importance of the Solar-Powered Corn Grinding Machine


Due to the fact that corn meal is highly nutritious and is an everyday need for most home and farmers who intend to use for their animals, there is a great need for grinding corn and hence the need of a grinding machine. The flour you buy in the store - even the whole wheat kind - is dead. Once ground, wheat loses all of its nutrients within 12 hours. Ground wheat left out longer than a week will even become toxic (always either freeze your freshly ground flour or better still, grind just enough for your daily use). To combat this, manufacturers will add preservatives and vitamins to store-bought flour and breads. These preservatives wind up in your body and stay there for a long time. You can avoid these scary chemicals by grinding your own fresh flour in a grain mill at home. Producing energy can be dirty work. Carbon emissions, coal slurry, nuclear waste, and other pollutants can wreak havoc on the environment, and cause health problems. And many energy sources are in limited supply.

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Design of Solar-Powered Corn Grinding Machine 2011

This solar-powered corn grinding machine is also of high importance to the economy because it provides an alternate means of grinding corn different from the conventional use of diesel powered engines which are very noisy and releases carbon waste to the atmosphere. This is a gas that causes greenhouse effect and is hazardous to the environment. And in addition to this the machine production will serve as a source of income to the designer and also provide jobs to persons who will be in charge of operating them.

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Design of Solar-Powered Corn Grinding Machine 2011

Chapter Two
Literature Review
Early grain mills were driven by paddle wheels which were attached to a shaft that turned the millstone. The millstone was on top of a similar sized stone that was stationary and this simple arrangement worked well in areas where water ran swiftly. There was no gear which was good because of maintenance, but it was also a disadvantage because there was no consistency in the speed of the mill. During the Roman Empire, they advanced to vertical wheels with some estimated at 2.4 to 3.2 tons per hour. By 1086 in England, a census was taken and there were 5,624 water-powered flour mills. The classical grain mill is designed to be driven by water. Some were driven by livestock while others were driven with slave labor. At the end of the eighteenth century, Oliver Evans revolutionized grain mills when he invented, patented and promoted a fully automated mill. Modern mills usually use electricity to turn heavy steel or cast iron flat and serrated rollers to separate bran and germ from the endosperm. White flour is made of the endosperm. Many bakers still prefer the stone-ground flour because of its texture. The bakers fear that much of the nutritional value is lost in the heat created by the metal rollers of the modern flour mills. The modern corn mills can produce enormous amounts of product, but in the production process, there is often lost the goodness of the whole-grain. Whole-grain products can be found in the grocery store, but it is difficult to find what you are truly looking for in terms of texture, flavor and cost.

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Design of Solar-Powered Corn Grinding Machine 2011


Today, we have advanced to the modern home grain grinders which can produce virtually the same and better quality flour as the modern gristmills. Modern grain mills are easy to use, lightweight, adjustable to a special grind, can produce as much or as little as needed, and have a consistent quality.

Department of Mechanical Engineering Uniben

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Design of Solar-Powered Corn Grinding Machine 2011

Chapter Three
Design (CONCEPTUAL DESIGN, DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS, POWER CALCULATIONS
AND COST ANALYSIS)

This corn grinding machine is designed for simplicity with fewer components to reduce the power needed to run. This machine comprises of the following parts. AC Motor Grinder (Stone Grinders) Hopper Shaft Feeder Bearing Knob Base

Department of Mechanical Engineering Uniben

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Design of Solar-Powered Corn Grinding Machine 2011

Isometric Diagram of the Corn Grinding Machine

Shaft

Grinding Compartment

Hopper

Base

Feeder

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Design of Solar-Powered Corn Grinding Machine 2011

3D View of the Machine

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Design of Solar-Powered Corn Grinding Machine 2011

The Design Concept Corn is fed through the hopper and from the hopper goes to the grinding compartment and through the stationary stone. Grooves are cut into the stone radiating out from the centre of the stone to the ends. These grooves become shallower as they near the ends of the stone, until they disappear at the outer edges. When grain is ground, it falls through a channel into the centre of the two stones. As the stone rotates, it pulls the grain out through the channels where it is ground. The flour falls out the outer edges of the two stones. There is a shaft which passes a bearing connecting the moving stone to the motor (AC), the motor receives power form a solar panel. As current comes from the solar panel to the motor, the motor rotates and this rotary motion is transmitted by the shaft to the rotating stone, and as the corn come in through the groove of the stationary stone, the rotating stone crushes the grain against the stationary stone. The smoothness can be adjusted with a knob, the knob reduces the spacing between the stones. The Solar Power System This generates the power that is used to drive the machine. And it comprises of the following components:

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Design of Solar-Powered Corn Grinding Machine 2011

The Solar Panel which contains photovoltaic cells

The Solar Regulator or Charge Controller

The Battery Bank

Inverter

The Solar Panel The solar panel converts sunlight into DC power or electricity. They are classified according to their rated power output in Watts. The solar panel uses photovoltaic cell (a device used to convert solar radiation directly into electricity). The most common type is single crystal silicon solar cell. A standard photovoltaic cell is a thin semiconductor sandwich, with two layers of highly purified silicon. A semiconductor is a crystal that is constructed in such a way as to yield certain specific properties that can be used in electrical circuits. Transistors are made of semiconductors. Microprocessors are as well. In fact, the entire field of modern electronics uses various forms of semiconductors, so the implications are worldly. If you connect an electrical circuit to your semiconductor sandwich when sunlight is shining on it, electricity flows.

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Design of Solar-Powered Corn Grinding Machine 2011

Solar Regulators The solar regulator or charge controller ensures that the battery is charged properly and not damaged and that power is not lost or discharged. It feeds current into the battery bank at the required voltage. Good solar regulators or charge controllers draw the best performance out of the batteries and are very important for economics because they influence efficiency. It also prevents batteries from overcharging, overcharging causes gassing and loss of electrolyte resulting in damage to the batteries. This solar regulator will include a Low Voltage Disconnect feature, which will switch off the supply to the load if the battery voltage falls below the cut-off voltage. This prevents the battery from permanent damage and reduced life expectancy. They are rated by the amount of current they are able to receive from the solar panel. The Battery Bank Deep cycle batteries will be used in system because they are designed to be discharged over a long period of time (e.g. 100 hours) and recharged hundreds or thousands of times, unlike conventional car batteries which are designed to provide a large amount of current for a short amount of time.

Department of Mechanical Engineering Uniben

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Design of Solar-Powered Corn Grinding Machine 2011

Power Inverter The power inverter is the main component of any independent power system which requires power. The power inverter will convert the DC power stored in the batteries and into AC power and then transmits this power to the motor. Design Considerations The major factor considered in the design of the machine is cost and thus the entire component selected were as small an efficient as possible due to the fact that the machine will be powered using solar power which could be very expensive if the machine requires a very high power to run. The other factors considered are: Shaft size and material: the shaft selected is a 1inch diameter shaft made from mild steel. Type and size of bearing used: a pillow block bearing of 1inch internal diameter is selected. Operation and control: turning the machine on/off will done using a switch thus making it easier to operate Maintenance procedures: since the machine was designed with fewer parts, it is easy to maintain as it contains no hidden part.

Department of Mechanical Engineering Uniben

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Design of Solar-Powered Corn Grinding Machine 2011

Corrosion and wear of the material: as a way of preventing the material from corroding the metal used in manufacturing the machine will be painted Motor capacity: an AC motor capacity of 500watts, 1200rpm is selected. Availability of solar energy: there is constant energy supply from the sun to this part of the world and thus is the source for powering the machine. Power Calculations The size of the motor is: 500 watts 0.67hp 1200rpm 50Hz 40F 2.3Amps Power-required to drive the motor In order to size the solar panel, we need to determine the size of the motor and also the amount of hours the machine will work per day.

Department of Mechanical Engineering Uniben

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Design of Solar-Powered Corn Grinding Machine 2011

Device

Power Rating 500 watts

Estimated Runtime

Watt Hour (WH) Consumed 3000

AC Motor

0.67 hp 220V

Six (6) Hours per day

Table 1 - Power Rating of the Electric AC Motor 1

Solar Panel Rating The number of charge hours expected for the solar panel is 8hours. Power Rating of the solar panel = Daily usage Charge hours 3000WH 8 = 375watts Accounting for inefficiencies we add by 20% 375 1.20 = 450watts The total number of panels needed will be: 450 150 =3 Three (3) 150 watts panels will be needed Amount of Batteries Needed The 150 watts panel produces 4.4 amps thus 3 4.4A = 13.2 A 8Hrs = 105.6Ah 105Ah batteries, should be discharged to no more than 50%, thus we divide total amps by 50% of 105Ah = 50Ah. 105.6 50 = 2.112 Therefore two (2) 150Ah batteries will be needed Regulator or Charge Controller Size

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Design of Solar-Powered Corn Grinding Machine 2011

For the 20A regulator One 150W panel produces around 4.4 Amps. 3 x 4A = 12A So for Six (3) Solar Panels we will need: 33=1 Therefore we will need one charge controller for the machine.

Department of Mechanical Engineering Uniben

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Design of Solar-Powered Corn Grinding Machine 2011

Cost Analysis S/No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Part Name Electric AC Motor Shaft (Mild Steel) Hopper (Sheet Metal) Bearing (Journal) Base (Cast Iron) Feeder (Sheet Metal Grinder (Stone Grinder) Knob Cost of Fabrication Solar panel (PV Cells Battery (Deep cycle) Solar Regulator Inverter Quantity 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 2 1 1 Grand Total
Table 2 - Cost Analysis of the Solar-Powered Grinding Machine

Dimension/Rating 500W, 220V, 0.67hp, 50Hz, 1200rpm 1in Dia. By 300mm 1in inner Dia. 150W, 4.4A 150Ah 20A 1000W

Unit Cost Total Cost (N) (N) 15,000 2,000 1,000 5,000 5,000 1500 7,000 500 5000 75000 30000 20000 30000 15,000 2,000 1,000 5,000 5,000 1,500 7,000 500 5,000 225,000 60000 20000 30000 378,000

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Design of Solar-Powered Corn Grinding Machine 2011

Chapter Four
Economic Analysis A good design and manufacture of a powerful machine without an economic value is as good as useless because if a machine cannot meet a need or is too expensive to obtain, it probably might be in the shelve for long and thus redundant. Thus it is of high importance that engineers carry out an economic analysis of a machine before putting it into the market. From the knowledge of CED, we learnt that for a product to have a market, it must satisfy a need for which consumers and anticipated users are willing to pay for. The following steps are taken to ensure economic viability. Registration (Business Name) We will ensure that our business name is registered at the state and territory level of government. This involves registering our business name with the corporate affairs commission. Location and Site Selection In selecting and locating our business site we will take into consideration the availability of, and proximity to basic amenities like: Raw materials

Department of Mechanical Engineering Uniben

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Design of Solar-Powered Corn Grinding Machine 2011

Marketing location Security Availability (reliability of power supply) Possibility of expansion Obtaining Licenses, Permits and approvals We will ensure that we find out the licensing requirements that apply to our new business. The federal, state and local governments are all responsible for the different licenses, permits, registration and certificate that applies to businesses. Selection of Technology We will ensure we select appropriate technology that will include: Reduced real and implied cost of technology Reduced maintenance cost Capacity of the technology in relation to the expected level of operation Adaptability and flexibility of the technology Efficiency of the technology Lifespan of the technology

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Design of Solar-Powered Corn Grinding Machine 2011

Advertisement After the economic analysis and design of the machine the next step is to find means of bringing our product (the solar-powered grinding machine) to the notice of our prospective buyers. This could be done by the following: Exhibitions Showcasing in a showroom Networking This will enable us to convince our prospective buyers that our product is the best.

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