tools

Screenless Hammer Mill

[allowing rural farmers to grind grain cheaply and easily]

[Summary & Motivation] [Community] [Specifications] [Issues] [Contacts] [Pictures]

Summary & Motivation	Project Initiator: Amy Smith & D.S. Phakisi Start Date: August, 2005 Projected Completion Date: November, 2005 Current Status: Prototyping In rural Lesotho, many farmers grow maize, sorghum, and wheat to sustain themselves and their families. Hammer mills, which use a spinning metal bar to grind the grain, are the most popular way to grind these products, with 51% of respondents to a needs assessment survey (2000) acknowledging use. Unfortunately, the mills are relatively expensive and can be located far from the home of a farmer. In fact, some "people have to travel from 4:00 o'clock in the morning and return at 9:00 or 10:00 in the evening." These mills typically run off of petrol or diesel, and they are operated by small entrepreneurs who charge a nominal amount or demand a certain percentage of the ground grain as a grinding fee. In 2000, people indicated that a hand-powered machine could be more appropriate and cheaper, allowing more rural entrepreneurs to purchase mills. As a Master's student in mechanical engineering at MIT, Amy Smith developed a low-cost (Around $500 US) hammer mill which could be manufactured locally out of steel. This mill does not use a screen to seperate the grain particles, which is advantageous since the screens must be imported at a high cost. If the screen breaks in a rural location, it can take weeks or months to replace. Amy's mill has been prototyped and tested in Senegal and Haiti, and she is continuing with dissemination of the technology. When she visited Lesotho in August of 2005, Amy brought a copy of the plans for the mill with her. Ntate Phakisi determined that ATS could produce a working prototype within three months time, handing the project over to some students on attachment for completion. [top]
Community	This technology would be marketed to rural entrepreneurs who desire to start a grain-grinding business in a rural location where electricity is not easily available. [top]
Specifications	Must be hand-operated. Should be locally maintainable and constructable. Should be relatively inexpensive. Should be durable. Must be able to grind mid-size quantities of grain (10 to 50 kg) rapidly. [top]
Issues	Help is needed in the following areas: Developing a manufacturing process for the hammer mill. Determining the best way to test the mill in Lesotho. Marketing the mill to local entrepreneurs. Simplifying construction so that the mill can be made using only a drill press, guillotine (shear), and bender. [top]
Contacts	Project Leader: Tumelo Makhetha <tumelo@Yahoo.com> MIT Contact: Amy Smith <bee17@MAC.com> ATS Contact: D.S. Phakisi <technoled@ilesotho.com> Website (If applicable): N/A [top]
Pictures	PICTURES Description Download [top]

*.pdf - Portable Document File / *.doc - Document (Microsoft Word) / *.jpg - Joint Photographic Experts Group (Browser) / *.zip - WinZip Compressed File (WinZip)

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