Design and Construction of a Pedal-Power Grinding mill

Abstract

A pedal-power grinding mill has been designed and constructed. The machine is made of a chain drive mechanism. This mechanism is made up of sprocket, gear, pedal, chain, bearings, grinding disks, shaft and hopper for receiving the product to be milled. The pedal is used for generating torque for rotating the shaft and the grinding disk. This machine was designed as a low-cost solution for either no or inadequate electricity power supply from the electricity distribution company in the rural area and in some urban centers of Nigeria and other developing countries. The developed machine is economically viable and will reduce drudgery in using hand cranking for grinding agricultural product such as yam to produce yam flour, pepper, tomatoes, etc. The machine was observed to be effective in grinding tomatoes and can also be used for grinding other agricultural product.