Chapter One: Introduction

1.1 Background
Maize is one of the most important staple crops in the world. Corn is cultivated
globally, being one of the most important cereal crops worldwide. It is, after wheat and rice, the
most important cereal grain in the world, providing nutrients for humans and animals and serving
as a basic raw material for the production of starch, oil and protein, alcoholic beverages, food
sweeteners and more recently, fuel. In ancient days, people processed maize by hand to tear the
skins of corn and take off the kernel by simple tools even by hand. Many farmers grow maize but
could not afford the cost of acquiring some of the imported threshing machines because of their
cost. Such people resort to manual means of threshing which results into low efficiency, high
level of wastage and exerting of much labor. Corn threshing machine was constructed to shell
maize and separate the cob from the grains. Large scale shelling for commercial purposes is not
possible due to fatigue. Traditional shelling methods do not support large-scale shelling of
maize. There are hand operated maize Sheller’s which are cumbersome to use. Hand shelling
takes a lot of time, even with some hand operated simple tools. There are, of course, machines
which can shell maize, but these are usually unaffordable for rural farmers. There is a need for a
cost effective, eco-friendly solution for shelling maize. The cost of purchasing such Sheller’s is
high for the poor rural farmer, and therefore necessitates the design of low-cost system that is
affordable and also increases threshing efficiency. maize shelling is a post-harvest operation that
is the removal of maize seeds from the cob. This operation can be carried out in the field or at the
storage environment. Maize shelling is an important step towards the processing of maize to its
various finished products like flour. The different methods of maize shelling can be categorized
based on various mechanization technology used. These includes: hand-tool-technology, animal
technology, and engine power technology. Hand technology involves the use of hand tools in
shelling, while as observed animals were used in threshing on the field by marching on the
maize. Engine powered technology involves the use of mechanical assistance in threshing or
shelling the maize.
 Maize Shelling Techniques
Depending on the influence of agronomic, economic and social factors threshing or shelling is
done in different ways.

 Threshing or shelling by hand, with simple tools.

Simple hand-held tools are widely employed in the process of maize shelling. Pictured below is a
metallic device that can be hand held and is used for shelling maize. It comprises of teeth that
protrude perpendicularly from the inside of the cylindrical wall. The device is tapered so as to
accommodate the similar shape of maize cob and also to accommodate the varying sizes. It
works effectively, though it is very slow since it can only process one cob at a time, hence it is
not suitable for large scale production. It can be largely employed at household level.

 Mechanical threshing or shelling, with simple machines operated manually.

Mechanical shellers are relatively applicable to both small and medium scale maize production.
Adeleye, et al.,(2015) commented that mechanical threshers are mostly used by large scale
cultivators of maize. The principle of operation used is friction, which is applied to the maize
kernels through teeth from a large rotary discs. The cobs are fed in through the hopper and they
go into the drum where the shelling disk is mounted. Shelling is accomplished as the disc is
rotated, Anant and Arunkumar,(2014).
 Average sized maize shellers have an output that ranges between 30 kg per hour to 120 kg per
hour when manually operated. They are advantageous in that most of them separate the cob and
the shelled kernels during the process. They are also reported to cause very minimal damage to
the kernels, hence an increased shelf life of the resulting shelled maize. Large scale shelling for
commercial purposes is not possible with them due to accumulated fatigue.

 Mechanical threshing or shelling with motorized equipment

The principle of operation is similar to that of mechanical shellers. The major difference is in the
type of power employed to run the machine. Motorized shellers use electric motors to drive the
shelling mechanism, which is usually either a bar or a disc. According to Oriaku, et al.(2014),
motorized shellers usually have satisfactory shelling performances. Their major disadvantage lies
in their inapplicability to the marginalized farmer who may lack access to electric power.

Figure above clearly shows the hopper. The hopper wouldgenerally vary in shape, its main use
beingto direct the maize cobs to be shelled into proper orientation as it enters the shelling
section. After the hopper, the roller with the teeth arranged in a helical manner around the
rotating drum are responsible for the shelling of the kernels. As the drum rotates, the maize cobs
are beaten by the teeth and thus causing the kernels to fall off. The helical arrangement
 of the teeth is responsible for propelling the cob to the end section where it is thrown off with all
the kernels having been shelled. It can be seen also that below the rollers is a screen with small
holes. These function as outlets of the individual shelled kernels into a collection section directly
below the screen.Also, large industrial maize shellers are usually prohibitively expensive.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Creating a linkage between ruler area with different governmental institutes helps to solve
different problem that arise from society. lack of moderate and efficient trashing is one among
the different problems of society. the trashing machine that uses for trashing of crops helps to the
society in terms of the following advantages.
 Efficient in time and money consumption
 Reduce labor force
 Produce an efficient crop

1.3. Significance of the study

The following are some of the significances of the study.

 To reduce the problem cultural harvesting methods in our country

 To improve the living standard of society by using modern corn trashing methods
 It used to increase the ability of investigating problem in similar for project
 To reduce the cost man power using traditional wheat trashing methods

1.4 Objectives of the Study

1.4.1 General Objective
The general objective of this project is to design moter powered automatic maize
Sheller/threshing machine.

1.4.2 Specific Objective

To meet the general objectives of the study the project is intended to achieve the following
specific objectives.

 To identifies working principles of Maiz trashing machine

  To identifies the advantages and disadvantages of modern Maiz trashing machines.
 To study the participation (use age) of the society in the modern Maiz trashing machines
 To develop, fabricate and describe this Maiz trashing machine for the society on the
market to introduce, modern Maiz trashing machines with their relative advantages

Key Components of the Design

1. Mechanical Structure:

- Frame Design: A sturdy yet lightweight frame will support all machine components,
ensuring stability during operation.
- Threshing Mechanism: The threshing drum will be designed with optimal speed and
surface texture to effectively separate grains without causing excessive damage.
- Separation System: A combination of sieves and air blowers will be employed to
facilitate the efficient removal of chaff and debris.

2. Automation Features:

- Control Systems: A microcontroller-based system will manage the operational

parameters, providing feedback to the user and enabling automated adjustments for
varying conditions.

3. Energy Considerations:

- The design will explore electric and hybrid power options to ensure energy efficiency
while maintaining high throughput.
- Energy recovery systems may be incorporated to harness energy from the threshing
process itself.

4. Safety Measures:
- The machine will include safety features such as emergency stop buttons, protective
guards, and user-friendly interfaces to minimize operational risks.
5. Economic Analysis:
- A thorough cost-benefit analysis will be conducted to evaluate production costs,
maintenance requirements, and potential return on investment for farmers.
1.4-Scope of the Project
The scope of this project is to design motor powered maize threshing machine which solve the
problem of that detaching of the maize or grains from its cobs in rural and urban area of our
country also saves electric bills, time consumes and energy/man power. This project is starts with
literature review and design specification in order to satisfy the project objective. The design
includes material selection, working principle, dimension analysis, power and force requirement
for threshing of the maize, part design, component selection, cost analysis and modeling of each
part by using 3D cad design.

1.5 Design Methodology

1.6- Organization of the Project/ Work
 This work generally will contain 5 chapters and the reference part.
 Chapter one (introduction) this chapter contains the background, statements of
the problem, the objectives of the work, scope of the project, design methodology,
and working principle generally this chapter contains the overall introduction of
the project.
 Chapter two (literature review) this chapter describes or reviews previously
written documents related to the design.
 Chapter three (detail design) this chapter contains the geometric analysis,
design specification design considerations, the strength analysis of all components
of the machine, the assembling drawing of the machine to be designed and finally
cost analysis of the machine.
 Chapter four (result and discussion) this topic briefly explains the results and
provides clear and neat discussion about the result that we got from detail design.
 Chapter five (conclusion and recommendation) in this chapter we conclude for
what we done in the design and finally recommend for whom it concern related to

the design or the machine

Chapter Two: Literature Review

2.1Kabri, H.U., Ebegbodi, M. and Tashiwa, Y.I. Nigerian Journal of Engineering Science and
Technology Research, Vol. 8, No. 2, 2022(125-133) “MOTORIZED MAIZE THRESHER MACHINE”
The machine is powered by a prime mover (Diesel Engine) 7.3hp capacity. The incoming maize
cob fed through the hopper is threshed by the rotating cylinder head in stationary concave
threshing Chamber, while the threshed grains falling by gravity through the concave screen are
winnowed as they fall across blast of air generated by the rotating fans in the blower chamber.
the machine consists of the hopper with extension, threshing unit, cleaning unit, screw auger
conveyor and power unit. The machine performance evaluation on three different varieties of
maize gives the threshing capacity of 650 kg/hr., Threshing efficiency of 70.3% at a drum speed
of 860 rpm and moisture content of 12.15%. The horsepower of machine was 7.3 HP,
Percentages threshed, and unthreshed was 76.38% and 15.30% respectively. The comparison test
with the existing thresher shows that the developed thresher threshes and bags a total of 100 kg
of maize in 3 minute and 38 seconds against 6 minutes manual packing and bagging. The time
difference shows 65.14% reduction in the time of threshing and bagging operation. The
developed maize thresher gives improvement on the timeliness of threshing operation due to the
reduction in the time of bagging. It is recommended that further work on automation of the
feeding of maize cobs into the machine and stitching the bags should be carried out for the
improvement of the machine productivity.
A motorized maize thresher machine works by using a rotating cylinder to beat and shear the
maize to separate the grains from the cob:
1. Feeding
Dry maize is loaded into the hopper.
2. Shelling
The rotating shelling drum beats the maize to separate the grains from the cob. The shelling
drum is powered by a motor through a belt-connected rotary pulley system.
3. Separation
The shelled grains, broken cobs, and chaff fall onto a shaker. The shaker agitates to separate
the grains from the cob and other dirt. A suction fan removes the chaff.
4. Collection
The clean maize grains pass through a sieve or concave screen and into a grain outlet chute for
collection.
5. Removal of empty cobs
The empty cobs are thrown out through the cobs outlet opening by the blower blades and the
air generated by the blower.

Figure1;MOTORIZED MAIZE SHELLING MACHINE

2.2 DR. HTAY HTAY WIN1, MG SAN MYA TUN2 “design and Structural Analysis of Shelling
Shaft for Motorized Maize Shelling Machine”the author is said that the design of shaft for maize sheller
and to analyze the structural behaviors on the shaft due to applied fluctuating torque, bending moment
and shearing force on it. This paper discusses about the calculation parameters of shaft design and
bearings selection for maize shelling machine produced in Aung-Paddy Thresher Industrial Zone at
Mandalay. Weight of threshing drum (shelling cylinder), fan blades, pulley and bearings are exerted on
the shaft which is constructed with gray cast iron. The shaft diameter is 25mm and length is 942mm. The
rotating speed of shaft is 302rpm at power supplied 1.1kW. SolidWorks software is used for modeling of
shaft and analysis of the shaft is done by ANSYS software. The stress distribution on shaft is expressed
by theoretically and numerically approaches. The theoretical and numerical results data of maximum von-
Mises stresses are 92.699MPa and 87.659MPa for gray cast iron. The percentage error is 5%. The yield
strength of gray cast iron is 276MPa. The theoretical and numerical results of maximum von-Mises
stresses are not exceed the yield strength. Therefore, this d esign is satisfied.
 Figure2: Motorized Maize Shelling

2.3 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology,

Ambrose Alli University, P.M.B 14 “A MOTORIZED CORN SHELLING” The maize thrasher
was used electric motorized machine and the machine shelling efficiency is 97 %and the shelling
capacity range between 50-85 kg per hour and the power was taken 399.2 watt. the electric corn
shelling machine developed in that project is cost effective and has a shelling efficiency of
88.6%, whereas the manual corn sheller was shown to have an efficiency of 45% or less.
Therefore, if the electric corn shelling machine were used, especially in rural settings, it could
optimize the time and energy currently taken to shell corn manually on a large scale. Moreover,
form the results of the experiments carried out, the average shelling capacity of the designed
machine was found to be 1.145kg/min with a shelling capacity of 68.7kg/hr. The total amount of
loss recorded was 0.0857 or 8.57%. The fabricated corn shelling machine proved to solve our
stated problems, with simplicity being the key. The machine is better in terms of structural
design, it has fewer moving parts for easy mobilization. The only manual process involved is
feeding of the corn with the important factor being that the machine can accommodate any corn size.
The mechanism of an automatic electrical maize threshing machine is designed to efficiently separate
maize kernels from the cobs using electrical power. Here’s a detailed breakdown of its components and
operational principles:
1. Electric Motor
• Function: Powers the entire machine, driving the threshing drum and other moving parts.
• Specifications: Typically selected based on the required speed and torque for threshing.
2. Hopper
• Function: Holds and feeds maize cobs into the threshing area.
• Design: Usually funnel-shaped to facilitate gravity feeding.
3. Threshing Drum
• Function: The main component where the threshing action occurs.
• Design: Equipped with spikes, bars, or beaters that rotate at high speed to impact the cobs, loosening the
kernels.
4. Separation Screens
• Function: Allow the separated kernels to fall through while retaining larger cob pieces.
• Design: Various mesh sizes are used to accommodate different kernel sizes.
5. Air Blower/Fan
• Function: Creates airflow to remove lighter materials like husks and dust from the kernels.
• Design: Positioned to maximize airflow through the separation area.
6. Collection Bins
• Function: Collects the cleaned maize kernels and other byproducts (like cobs and husks).
• Design: May include multiple bins for different materials.
7. Control Panel
• Function: Allows the operator to start/stop the machine and adjust settings such as motor speed.
• Features: May include indicators for operational status and safety features.
8. Chassis and Frame
• Function: Provides structural support for all components.
• Design: Typically made of robust materials to withstand vibrations and wear.
 Figure3 :The Fabricated Corn Shelling Machine

2.4 Lawal, M.O., Idris, M.O., Obiyemi, O.O. and Olaoye, S.A.” Construction and Performance
Evaluation of a Solar Powered Maize Sheller for Rural Farmers” The author said here that ,this machine
is simple and affordable maize shelling machine that is powered by solar energy. The method adopted
involves the selection of a direct current (DC) operated motor which consumes less power and is locally
available. Based on the available motor, the mechanical part is fabricated to work with the motor. Direct
coupling method is adopted between the motor and the mechanical part. The improvement in this work is
the introduction of a sustainable and affordable powering method. Design calculation has suggested the
use of an 80-watt solar panel. A battery of 18Ah capacity is used as storage to cushion the effect of the
intermittent nature of the sun. Test carried out on the sheller shows that it has the ability to shell 17.25 kg
of kernel in one hour. It has also been shown that the developed device has an efficiency of 89.61%. The
total production cost of this sheller (together with the solar power system) is approximately sixty
thousand naira (N60,000.00/$167). An automatic maize threshing machine is designed to separate maize
kernels from the cob efficiently. The mechanism typically involves several key components and
processes: An automatic rotary maize threshing machine employs a specific mechanism designed to
efficiently separate maize kernels from the cobs. Here's an overview of its key components and
operational principles:

The working principle or mechanism

The mechanism of an automatic rotary solar maize thresher machine integrates renewable energy with
efficient threshing technology. Here’s a detailed overview of its components and operational principle
1. Solar Panel
• Function: Convert sunlight into electrical energy to power the machine.
• Design: Typically mounted on a frame to maximize sun exposure, often adjustable for optimal angle.
2. Battery Storage Syste • Function: Stores excess energy generated by the solar panels for use during
low sunlight conditions.
• Type: Usually lithium-ion or lead-acid batteries, chosen for their efficiency and capacity.
3. Hopper
• Function: Holds and feeds maize cobs into the threshing area.
• Design: Funnel-shaped to facilitate gravity feeding.
4. Rotary Threshing Drum
• Function: The main component where the threshing action occurs.
• Design: Equipped with rotating spikes or beaters that impact the cobs, loosening the kernels.
5. Separation Screens
• Function: Allow the separated kernels to fall through while retaining larger cob pieces.
• Design: Various mesh sizes to accommodate different kernel sizes.

2.5 ambo university department of mechanical engineering “motorized maize

threshing machine” This method uses the same concept as hand-operated maize Sheller’s
except that the Sheller’s are powered using a motor or an engine (Figure 4). The Sheller’s under
this method can be categorized into immobile and mobile maize Sheller’s. These Sheller’s save
time and they reduce on the drudgery during maize shelling. However, the challenges with some
of these Sheller’s is that they are heavy, do not clean the maize kernels and are characterized
with a broken percentage of 8.4 which is above the recommended 2%. Motorized maize Sheller’s
use mechanically generated power to shell the maize. To facilitate speedy shelling of maize in
large scale maize production, motorized maize Sheller’s are recommended compared to hand-
operated maize Sheller. The output of motorized maize Sheller’s range between 500 and 2000
kg/hour and they can be operated by tractor power take off (PTO) or engines with power varying
from 5 to 15hp depending on the equipment used.

Figure4: Motorized maize shellin

And its Mechanism or working principle is
1. Feeding Mechanism
• Hopper: Maize cobs are fed into a hopper, which holds the cobs before they enter the threshing
chamber.
• Conveyor System: A conveyor belt or auger transports the cobs from the hopper to the threshing area.
2. Threshing Chamber
• Rotating Drum: The core of the machine is a rotating drum equipped with metal bars or spikes. As the
drum spins, it breaks apart the cobs and loosens the kernels.
• Threshing Action: The impact between the cobs and the drum, combined with friction, helps separate
the kernels from the cob.
3. Separation Mechanism
• Screening: After threshing, a series of screens or sieves allow the loose kernels to pass through while
retaining larger pieces of cob and debris.
• Air Blower: An air blower or fan may be used to blow away lighter materials like husks and dust,
ensuring that only clean kernels are collected.
4. Collection System
• Collection Bin: Cleaned maize kernels are directed into a collection bin or container. Some machines
may have multiple collection points for different materials (e.g., kernels, cobs, husks).
5. Drive System
• Motor: An electric or diesel motor powers the machine, driving the rotating drum and other moving
parts.
• Transmission: Gears or belts transmit power from the motor to various components, ensuring
synchronized operation.
6. Control System
• Automatic Controls: Modern machines may include sensors and electronic controls for monitoring
performance, adjusting speed, and ensuring optimal operation.