Design and Evaluation of a Village-Level Feed Milling Equipment

ABSTRACT

A collaborative project of the Appropriate Technology Center, Department of Agricultural Engineering and Environmental Management, College of Agriculture, Central Philippine University, Iloilo City and the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, Province of Guimaras was carried out to design and evaluate a feed milling equipment suitable for village operation. The design and fabrication of the machines were done in Iloilo City. The machines were installed and its performance was evaluated in San Lorenzo, Guimaras. The study was carried out from October 2001 to August 2003. The village-tyoe feed milling equipment generally consists of the following: (a) Hammer mill, (b) Vertical-type feed mixer, and (c) Power Unit. The hammer mill that is made of steel material is used to reduce the size of shelled corn into grits. It has a rotor diameter of 14 cm and a width of 12 in. Twenty-four swinging-type steel hammers are used to pound shelled corn through a ¼ in. diameter screen mesh. Ground corn is conveyed from the milling chamber to a cyclone separator by means of a radial-type blower. The machine is driven by a 7.5 hp, three-phase moor through a multiple v-belt drive. The vertical-type feed mixer, on the other hand, is also made of steel and is used to properly mix feed materials and other ingredients into mash feeds. The vertical-type mixer has a mixing chamber diameter of 1.2 meter and a height of 3 meters. Inside the mixing chamber is a 10-in. diameter screw that causes the material to move from the base to the top of the mixer thereby causing mixing effect on feeds. The materials to be milled is fed through a hopper and discharged at a chute above the inlet hopper. The motor that drives the machine is a 5 hp single-phase capacitor-type motor. The hammer mill and the feed mixer are supplied with power by a 35-KVA electric generator driven by a Mitsubishi 4DR5 surplus engine. Performance evaluation showed that the hammer mill can successfully grind shelled corn at a rate of 300 kg per hour, while the vertical feed mixer can mixed feed at a rate of 300 kg per load. Actual output is 1600 kg per day of corn grits for hammer mill and 1500 kg per day of mixed feed for the vertical feed mixer. Two person are required to operate both the hammer mill and the feed mixer. Fuel consumed in driving the two machines is 10 liters of diesel fuel per 300 kg of milled grains or mixed feeds. Operating cost analysis showed that at P450,000.00 investment for the equipment and its components, the cost to produce corn grits in the hammer mill is P1.00 per kg while to produce mixed feeds in the vertical-type feed mixer the cost is P1.03 per kg. Cost-return analysis also showed that the feed mill can generate an annual net income of P780,000.00 to P1,140,000.00 in producing hog feeds. Return on investment range from 173.33% to 253.33%. The payback period is less than a year. Benefit cost ration range from 1.03 to 1.51.