Cocoa Pulverising Machine Design, Calculations and Analysis
[1]
Odigie Ikponmwosa Edosa, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria.
[2]
Imonitie Desmond Iria-evbo, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria.
[3]
Ariavie Omonefe Godfrey, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria.
[4]
Sadjere Ejuvwedia Godwin, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria.
This paper details the design of a machine used to pulverize cocoa beans which has already been processed into cocoa bean cakes after fermentation, drying, winnowing and roasting must have been done. The machine reduces the cocoa to fine particles by discharging the cocoa press cake manually into the hopper. It goes down by gravity and is crushed by rotating blades in a rotating chamber, driven by a shaft mounted on a pulley and belt system, driven by an electric motor. The blades continue to grind until the cocoa is able to discharge itself downwards through a mesh. Mesh sizes of 0.044mm to 0.1255mm standard mesh size are used, hence the pulverized cocoa particles are of 0.044mm to 0.125mm in size. Adequate calculations are made to determine the power requirements the motor and other design parameters required.
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