CHAPTER ONE

1.0 Introduction
Maize has always been preferred to any other crops,including cassava because most of

the world`s civilizations developed around grains rather than tuber crops (Adegbulugbe,

2002). Maize is an astonishing plant, with an astonishing capacity to suprise human

(Adegbulugbe, 2002).
Although, maize did not originates from Africa, it was introduced to the continent in

the 16th century, it had spread all over the continent (Awour, 2003). It is perhaps the most

important cereal crops of significant economic importance in African countries that has

replaced sorghum and millet. It is a staple food crop grown in diverse environment and

consumed by people with varying food performances and socio-economic background in

Africa (Awour, 2003).

According to Verheye (2010), other reasons for rapid adoption and expansion of

maize include the fact that, it gives one of the highest yield per man-hour of labour spent on

it, it provides nutrients in a compact form and it is easily transportable; the husks give

protection against birds and rains; it is easy to harvest and does not shatter; it stores well if

properly dried; it can be harvested over a long period first as immature cobs, but can be left

standing in the field to maturity before harvesting;cultivers with different maturing periods

are available. Also, in terms of taste, many people prefer maize to their local cereals

(Verheye, 2010).
Maize is a staple food for about 50% of sub-sahara African population (IITA 2009). It

is an important source of carbohydrate, protein,iron,vitamin B and minerals (IITA 2009). As

food, the whole grain, fresh green or dried, may be used or may be processed traditionally by

wet and dry milling methods to give a variety of food products (Abdulrahaman and

Kolawole, 2006).
 Maize is an important cereals crop which belongs to a grass family (Graminaeae)

producing small edible seeds which was said to have originated from Mixico over years

(Iwena, 2002).
Importance of maize cannot be over emphasized in the developing world, including

the potential to mitigate the present food insecurity and alleviate poverty. Maize is a preferred

staple food for over 900 million poor consumer, 120-140 million poor farm families and

about one third of mainourished children (CIMMYT and IITA, 2010).Maize, the American

Indian word for corn, means literally that which sustains life. 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 (Iwena, 2002) In Africa, maize has

become a staple food crop that is known to the poorest family. It is used in various

forms to alleviate hunger, and such forms include pap or ogi, maize flour, and etc. It

is because of the importance place of maize that its processing and preservation to an

op-timed condition must be analyzed (Nwakaire et al., 2011). In Asia, maize

production is over 200 billion kilograms a year and it is expected that the total maize

production in developing countries will eventually overtake production in industrialized

countries. (Nwakaire et al., 2011) There have been large variations in the production of

maize in India since independence. However on the other side the running cost and

the initial cost of existing thresher are so high that poor person who has the less then

the acreage farms cannot afford it. Instead of two people only one person can do the

work and acquire good quantity of production without any difficulty. The production

cost is also less for this machine. These machines have good production rate but

production rate but production rate depends upon availability of electricity Due to the
frequent load shading the production rate have been decreased (Akubuo, 2002). This

demand power will be useful in to ascertain the dimension of various components

associated with the machine by obtaining design dimensions of components’ fabrication

will be done at last trials will be taken to ascertain viability and production capacity

In India, (FAO, 2011) Corn is emerging as the third most important crop after rice and

wheat, and it has significance as a source of a large number of industrial products

besides its use as human food and animal feed Corn is also a versatile crop, allowing

it to grow across a range of agro-ecological zones. In our country, most of land use

for agricultural purpose which produces semi-finished products. Corn also is one of the

agricultural semi-finished goods (Akubuo, 2002). Every part of Corn has economic

value as the grain, leaves, main crop stalk, tassel and cob can all be used to produce

a large variety of food and non-food products (Akubuo, 2002). In India Corn is grown

in all the seasons, i.e., kharif, Rabi and summer (FAO, 2011). After harvesting with

sickle and plucking of cob manually, dehusking of cob is done by hand to remove its

outer sheath and further grain is obtained by shelling the cob traditionally, i.e. by

beating the dehusked cobs with sticks or with fingers or sickle, etc (FAO, 2011). This

activity is mostly done by farmer women. In our country, most of the farmers shell corn

by mainly three methods namely shelling cob grain by hand; hand operated corn

Sheller and beating by stick method were carried for removing corn kernel from the

cob (Akubuo, 2002). The Corn shelling was designed and built to improve the

standards of living of people living in villages of developing countries (Akubuo, 2002).

There are several electrical operated Corn shelling machines for mass shelling. Mostly

farmers used to take their unshelled Corns to such industries were they get their final
product that is shelled Corn and then they used to sell this product to the market.

This incurred the cost of transportation between farms to machine industry increase

the cost of product (Akubuo, 2002). Most of contractor used to give less cost for

unshelled Corn and they got the profit of shelled Corns (Adaokoma 2001). The problems

are similar and manifold. Part of the solution to these problems lies in the evolution of

an Intermediate Technology i.e. Low capital, labor-intensive, locally based. This concept

of a technology more appropriate to the needs of 6 developing countries can be

applied equally well to agricultural mechanization (Adaokoma 2001). The problems of

underdevelopment are particularly acute in the rural areas of countries, where the

poorest people live and where agricultural underproduction and migration has most

effect. This synopsis on the design and fabrication of motorize operated Corn shelling

machine that will remove corn from corn kernel (Kaul and Egbo, 1985).
1.1 Background of the study
Maize farming is as old as man itself, and it has been done commercially in Africa and

Nigeria in particular for decades now. Maize farming is a high-potential oppotunity for

Nigeria and its people, expecially those who are willing to know how to turn a business idea

as this to wealth.
Maize is perhaps the most common food crop in Nigeria, and also the most important

as it is eaten in various dishes and forms the basis for most of the meals prepared by the

average Nigeria family.

As we know,corn is a crop cheaper than rice and wheat, two of the other most

consumed cereals, and this affordability makes maize hugely popular.

Nigeria is the tenth largest production of maize in the world with an annual production

of 7. Million metric tonnes in 2010 (FAO,2011). Maize is grown primarily for human

consumption, animal feed and raw material fo industries. After harvesting, the major

operations involved in processing of maize for food are drying, de-husking, shelling and
milling. Maize shelling is probably the most important operation as far as utilization of the

commodity is concerned because of its effect on subsequent processing and storage. Shelling

is the process of removing the seeds from maize cobs and is usually done by hand or by using

mechanical sheller (Barreiro-Hurle, 2012). In Nigeria, majority of farmers shell their maize

manually and this is time consuming and labour intensive. Mechanical threshers are mostly

used where maize is cultivated on large scale (Barreiro-Hurle, 2012). Some agricultural

research centers in Nigeria are mandated to design and fabricate simple agricultural

implements and equipment to boost mechanization of agricultural activities (BBS, 2004).

Innovation agricultural research system include hand made shellers and engine operated

sheller and de-husker (De Groote et al., 2013). The uptakes of these innovation is relatively

poor among small-scale farmers in Nigeria. Mainly because the neccessary information. In

addition, not much attention has beeen given to farmers` priorities in the development of

innovations in Agricultural mechanisation by the research centers (De Groote et al., 2013).

Corn otherwise known as “Oka” in igbo, “Masara” in Hausa and “Agbado” in yoruba

is mostly sued seed across all the tribe in this country today (Akubuo, 2002). It is widely used

in homes, hostels, and schools for eating and seedling process (when dried). It is therefore

very rare to see any Nigeria who has not tested it in one way or the other (Akubuo, 2002).

Since it is very imperative for dieting inclusively, it can be refined to form varieties of

food supplementary diet such as making Akamu (pap),semovita corn pounded, corn mill etc

(Adewumi, 2004). Today in our industrial sector such as ceramic and biscuit industry, it is

widely used for making of biscuit, flouring for bakery of the bread, and corn mill. Infact to

summarize all this, junked food that are backed in supermarket today are mostly involves

corn in making them (Adewumi, 2004).

 In the light of this as technology advance forward, an introduction of this machine

(sheller) made manifest and come into existence which is more stressless, easy to operate,

low costing, and time reduction with high degree of production volume and efficiency

(Adewumi, 2004).

1.2 Objectives of the project

This project is meant to achieved the following purposes:

1. To design and fabricate a prototype motorized maize shelling machine.
2. Tocarry out the performance evaluation of the machine.
3. To make adequate recommendations on the machine.

1.3 Justification of the Study

It is true that a lot of people has worked on maize shelling machine but will still find

out that there are foreign materials inside the maize been shelled, that is while we are coming

up with a maize shelling machine with a blower.

A successful growth and development of the solid agricultural processing sector of the

Nigerial economy would depends largely on the fabrication of indigenous machines and

equipment. Shelling is one of the operation involved in the processing of maize which is

mostly done manually (traditionally), which is associated with the following challenges: low

output, waste of time, contamination and human drudgery. Because of the above deficiency

and high cost of imported maize sheller, there is need to fabricate an indigenous machine that

would be able to minimize all the above identified problems.

1.4 Statement of the problem

maize that are been shelled from the previous maize shelling machine are with foreign

materials chaffs meaning that the clearing unit of the machine is faulty or not taking care of.

CHAPTER TWO

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

Maize shelling is a post harvest operation, it is the removal of maize seed from the

cob. This operation can be carried out in the field or at the storage environment. Maize

shelling therefore is an important step towards the processing of maize to its various finished

product 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 machine on the maize. Engine

power technology involves the use of mechanical method in threshing or shelling the maize.

Some examples were seen in the maize sheller that was design and constructed in Nigeria. To

facilitate speedy shelling of maize in order to reduce post harvest deterioration, mechanical

shellers are recommended because hand shelling methods cannot supply commercial shelling.

An average moisture content of 15% to 18% for maize that was to be threshed or

shelled was reported. Moisture content seriously affects the threshability of maize in a

mechanized system is the size of the maize cobs. According to the various sizes of maize cob

ranges from 50mm to 85mm depending on variety.

Corn shelling is always a typical job as it needs precision and carefully shelling of

Corn so as the Corn wouldn’t break while shelling. Shelling manually is inefficient

process. We are trying to make a power operated machine which can improve

productivity aids of profit of shelled Corns and reduce effort. So following literatures were

studied for designing of our project model.

A Y.V. Mahatale and V.P. Pathak“Physiological Evaluation of Different Manually

Operated Corn Shelling Methods”

Corn is the Third largest cereal produced in the world with a trend of rising production

in India. The normal area for Corn in India was 77.27 lakh hectares with production about

150.91 lakh tones in the year 2007. Rajasthan has the largest area 10.62 lakh hectares under
cultivation among all states with total production of 21 lakh tones. Four method of Corn

shelling namely shelling cob grain by hand, octagonal Corn Sheller, hand operated Corn

Sheller and beating by stick method were carried for removing Corn kernel from the cob. For

ergonomically evaluation ten male agricultural subjects of 25-35 yr age group were

randomly selected for study. Present traditional method of shelling Corn has proved to be

inefficient, laborious, time consuming and low output.

The energy expenditure rate was highest for beating by stick method (3.84 kcal/min)

and lowest for octagonal Corn Sheller (1.52 kcal/min). Traditionally Corn is threshed by

shelling cob grain by hand and beating the cob by stick. At present Corn shelling has

been improved by the use of tubular Corn Sheller and hand operated Sheller.

The energy expenditure rate was highest for beating by stick method (3.84 kcal/min)

and lowest for octagonal Corn Sheller (1.52 kcal/min). Energy expenditure rate for shelling

cob grain by hand and octagonal Corn shelling operation could be scaled in “Very light”

category of work load. Whereas the hand operated Corn Sheller and beating by stick method

could be scaled as in “Light” category of work load. For Corn shelling operations octagonal

Corn Sheller and hand operated Corn shelling are superior than shelling cob grain by hand

and beating by stick Method.

B. Ilori T. A., Raji A. O and O. Kilanko “Modeling Some Ergonomic

Parameters with Machine Parameter using Hand Powered Corn Sheller”

In this paper the author studied about the economic situation in most

developing countries have left farmers and processors operating at the small scale, hence

the use of automated and electric power driven equipment is limited to the few large scale
industries. The effect of the ergonomic parameters namely; weight, age, height and

arm length in relation to the resulting efficiencies; shelling efficiency, cleaning efficiency,

mechanical damage and percentage loss of a hand powered Corn Sheller were studiedIt was

observed by the author that age is more correlated with weight than arm length. From the

results obtained in this study, the following conclusions were drawn; the shelling efficiency

increase with increases in weight of the operator and significantly with age and arm length.

The weight of the operator has a great influence when driving the machine. The mechanical

damage observed from the performance evaluation has very low correlation with the

ergonomic parameters.

C. B. Ashwin Kumar and ShaikHaneefa Begum “Design, Development and

Performance Evaluation of a Hand Operated Maize Sheller”

The author conducted a research on design, development and evaluation of hand

operated Corn Sheller in College of Agricultural Engineering during the year 2012-2013. The

traditional shelling methods are rubbing the Corn cobs against each another, rubbing on

bricks or stone and by using iron cylinder consisting of wire mesh inside. These

methods are time consuming involves drudgery. In view of this, the study was undertaken to

design, development and evaluation of hand operated Corn Sheller. The Corn Sheller

consisted of a cylinder and a concave. The cylinder made up of high carbon steel of size

diameter 21 cm. The cylinder length 86 cm, having beaters which rotates along the cylinder

and separates grains from the c obs. While the concave was fabricated using 5 mm size mild

steel rods. The length of concave was 91 cm with slotted opening size of 30.3cm×2.5cm. It

was observed by the author that for hand operated Corn Sheller at a moisture content of 12%
w.b. and at a feed rate of 130kg/h, the shelling efficiency, unshelled percentage and visible

damage was found to be 99.56%, 0.44% and 1.07%, respectively.

D. PratimaPandey, JwalaBajrachrya and S Pokharel” Influence of Corn Seed

Processing with a Locally Produced Sheller on Seed Quality and Their Damage”

The author says that corn is one of the most important staple crops in the world. It is

also the second important food crop in Nepal, that more than 45% of the population in

mid-hill and high-hills considers maize meal to be their survival food. Community

Based Seed Production (CBSP) is a sustainable agricultural phenomenon implied in

hill and high-hills of Nepal under the Hill Maize Research Program in collaboration with

Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC); CIMMYT, Nepal; Directorate of Crop

Development (CDD), with the objective to produce quality seeds of maize at local level and

to increase the use of improved quality seeds and eventually increase the crop production.

Maize kernels are in general shelled from the cob manually using hands.

Manual shelling of maize is labor intensive and typically takes weeks and monthsfor

shelling the manual harvest. The mechanized alternatives to shelling maize by hand are

available but they are often unaffordable for subsistence farmers. Wooden corn sheller is a

simple but traditional device made locally for shelling the maize kernels and distributed to

CBSP farmers group. All data observed and analyzed in the present study reveals the corn

sheller is equally efficient and saved the time, labours and other resources. The corn sheller

could be used for maize processing and conditioning.

E. Oriaku E.C, Agulanna C.N, Nwannewuihe H.U, Onwukwe M.C and Adiele, I.D

“Design and Performance Evaluation of a Corn De-Cobbing and Separating Machine”

 Here the author told that, Agricultural products like maize, soya bean, millet and rice,

when processed into quality forms not only prolongs the useful life of these products, but

increases the net profit farmers make from mechanization technologies of such products. One

of the most important processing operations done to bring out the quality of maize is de

-cobbing or threshing of maize. Consequently, a de-cobbing and separation machine was

designed, fabricated and its performance evaluated. Corn atmoisture content of 15.14%

db sourced locally was used in the experiment and the data collected were analyzed. Results

showed that for a total 20kg of sample tested, the average feed and threshing time were 2.37

and 2.95 minutes respectively. The average feed and threshing rates were 2.06 and 1.65

kg/min with an average threshing efficiency of 78.93 %. The average separation efficiency

was 56.06 %. These results indicate that threshing and separation can be performed out

satisfactorily with the designed machine and it can be used to process about 1 tons of maize

per nine-hour shift

2.1 Maize and its origin (zea mays)

Maize was introduced to Weas Africa alond the western and eastern coasts in the 16th

century. As part of global ecological and demographic transformation by the Portuguese and

Arab explorers by dint to provide the slave trade (McMann 2001).

According to Wright (1949) cited by McCann (2001) maize was first received in the

coastal area (Pemba Island). The island used by Portuguese planters on 16th century t raise

food stuffs, including maize, to supply their coastal battalion. Maize was introduced by

Tanzania mainland (Tanganyika) in the 17th and spread inner parts by mid-19th century. It is
soon extablished itself as an important cereal crop all over the country and accepted by most

of the ethnic groups (Urassa 2010).

In the Western world, the term maize is used interchangeably with corn. The reason

for this is that all grains were called corn under early British and American trade and the

name was retained for maize because it was the most common grain in commerce. Although

the origin of the word maize is also controversial, it is generally accepted that the word has its

origin in Arawac tribes of the indigenous people of the Caribbean. On the basis of this

common name, Linnaeus included the name as species epithet in the botanical classification

Zea (Zea mays L.).

It is considered that maize was one of the first plants cultivated by farmers between

7000 and 10,000 years ago, with evidence of maize as food coming from some archaeological

sites in Mexico where some small corn cobs, estimated at more than 5000 years old, were

found in caves. The discovery of fossil pollen and cave corncobs in archaeological areas

support the position that maize originated in Mexico. Other theories describe maize as

originating in the region of the Himalayas in Asia, the product of a cross between Coix spp.

and some Andropogone as (probably of the Sorghum species), both parental chromosomes

with five pairs, or in the high Andes of Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru, as evidenced bythe

presence of popcorn in South America and the wide genetic diversity present in the Andean

maize, especially in the highlands of Peru.

The spread of maize from its center of origin in Mexico to various parts of the world

has been remarkable and rapid with respect to its evolution as a cultivated plant and as a

variety of food products. The inhabitants of several indigenous tribes in Central America and
Mexico brought the plant to other regions of Latin America, the Caribbean, and then to the

United States and Canada. European explorers took maize to Europe and later traders took

maize to Asia and Africa.

2.2.1 Origin of Maize in Nigeria

Maize was introduced into Africa in the 1500s and has since become one Africa`s

dominant food crops. Like many other regions, it is consumed as a vegetable although it is a

grain crop. The grain are rich in vitamin A, C, and E, carbohydrates, and essential minerals

and contain 9% protein.

Production figures from FAO (FEOSTAT, 2011) show that the area planted to maize

in Nigeria has increased from 438,000 ha in 1981 to 3,335,860 ha in 2009 with associated

increased in population from 720,000 tons to 7,338,840 tons during the same period.

Nigeria is the tenth largest producer of maize in the world with an annual production

of 7.3 million metric tonnes in 2010 (FAO, 2011). Maize is grown primarily for human

consumption, animal feed and raw material for industries. After harvesting, the major

operations involved in processing of maize for food are drying, de-husking, shelling and

milling. Maize shelling is probably the most important operation as far as utilisation of

the commodity is concerned because of its effect on subsequent processing and

storage. Shelling is the process of removing the seeds from maize cobs and is usually

done by hand or by using mechanical shellers. In Nigeria, majority of farmers shell their

maize manually and this is time consuming and labour intensive. Mechanical threshers are

mostly used where maize is cultivated on a large scale. Some agricultural research centres in

Nigeria are mandated to design and fabricate simple agricultural implements and
equipment to boost mechanisation of agricultural activities. Innovations in agricultural

mechanisation from the national agricultural research system include hand-made hand-

made shellers and engine-operated sheller and dehusker. The uptake of these innovations is

relatively poor among small-scale farmers in Nigeria, mainly because the necessary

information about the implements and equipment is not well disseminated. In addition, not

much attention has been given to farmers’ priorities in the development of innovations in

agricultural mechanization by the research centres.

In Nigeria, agricultural research and development still operate around the transfer of

technology model, which is based on the assumption that innovations generated mainly by

the national agricultural research system will be transmitted to farmers for adoption through

the network of the extension system at the national and state level. In this case, farmers are

generally regarded as the recipients and users of agricultural innovations with little or no

input to the development of the final products (Leeuwis and Van de Ban, 2004). Even though

this approach has recorded notable achievement in some cases (the development of improved

varieties of crops with high yield and resistance to diseases), it has often led to the

development of agricultural innovations that are not being utilised by farmers. There is,

however, an increasing recognition by development practitioners that innovation is not a

linear process from formal science through extension to farmer adopters, and that scientists

are not the sole and are seldom the most important generators of knowledge (Schreiber,

2002). It is becoming more widely accepted that innovation is a social process involving a

multitude of different actors, and that innovation processes can be enhanced by creating

more possibilities for diverse stakeholders to interact (Douthwaite, 2002; World Bank,

2006). This suggests that other stakeholders in agricultural development such as farmers,
artisans and NGOs may also be developing innovations for enhanced agricultural

production apart from the formal national agricultural research system in the country.

Valuable experiences are being generated across the world on how diverse actors can

be encouraged to work together and how new ideas and products whether from formal

research and from other sources can be transformed into innovations that benefit

thousands of resource-poor farmers (Waters-Bayer et al., 2008). A convergence of

stakeholders in a participatory innovation development framework is likely to be more

beneficial to farmers than the present technology-transfer approach to innovation

development. PROLINNOVA Nigeria is a network of stakeholders in the agricultural

research and development aimed at promoting and adding value to innovations

generated by local farmers and their associates in solving their own problems.

Members of the network carried out a field survey covering three LGAs in 2010

to understand the nature of existing local capacities for addressing problems relating to

agricultural production and natural resource management in the community

(PROLINNOVA Annual Report, Adeleye et al. 2011). The report of the field survey showed

some of the local ideas and methods used by farmers in some parts of Kaduna State to

address their production challenges. One of the innovations was a mechanical maize sheller

made by Sule Magaji, a local artisan. Maize production is one of the major income-

generating agricultural activities in the study area. Threshing of the maize after harvesting

and drying has always been a constraint especially for women and children in view of

the time consumption and drudgery associated with the operation. Discussions between

farmers in Kasuwan Magani in Kajuru LGA and the local artisan in the community led to the

recognition of the need for mechanical shellers. The local artisan got a mechanical sheller
from an external source and made another one using materials available in the community.

Several units of the new mechanical shellers are now being used by farmers in the

community. A local NGO in the area also contracted the artisan to make mechanical maize

shellers for distribution to farmers in 10 communities. Members of PROLINNOVA-Nigeria

facilitated a meeting between the local artisan and officials of Faculty of Agricultural

Engineering Institute of Agricultural Research Ahmadu Bello University to explore

opportunities for adding value to the mechanical sheller through expert input. Following the

inspection of the sheller and the demonstration of its operation, the experts suggested the

inclusion of another material that will make it possible for the sheller to be used for the

shelling of groundnut as well thus expanding the scope of its utilisation by farmers.

It is against this backdrop that a study was conducted by members of

PROLINNOVA-Nigeria to assess the role of the local innovation by the artisan and

farmers in mechanisation of maize shelling in the area. The specific objectives of the study

were to:

i. Analyse the socioeconomic characteristics of participating farmers in the study area;

ii. Assess the level of farmers’ adoption of maize sheller made by the local artisan; and

iii. Evaluate farmers’ perception of benefits of the maize sheller made by the local artisan.

2.2 Importance of maize

Maize is the world`s most widely grown cereal, as it is grown in a range of agro-

ecological environments, and more maize is produced annually than any grain. It is the most

important cereal crop in the economy of African countries, and is one of the most important
commodities used for food aid. Owing to the fact that it is cheaper than other cereals (such as

rice and wheat), it is more affordable to the vast majority of the population, and therefore,

occupies a prominent position in the agricultural development agencies of several countries in

Africa. It is an important staple food for more than 1.2 billion people in Sub-Saharan Africa

(SSA) an Latin America. All parts of the crop can be used as food and non-food products

(IITA, 2009) and as a versatile crop maize as been put to a wider range of uses than any other

cereal. Maize is widely consumed as food in many parts of the world, and it is a staple food

in developing countries, particularly in continents of Latin America, Asia and Africa. It is also

a basic ingredient for some indigenous drinks and food products, while in developing

countries it is mainly used as food.

Maize is a staple food for about 50% of Sub-Sahara African population (IITA, 2009). It

is an important source of carbohydrate, protein, iron, vitamin B and minerals. As food, the

whole grain, freshly green or dried, may be used or may be processed traditionally by wet and

dry milling methods to give a variety of food products. Preparation and uses of maize alone

or in combination with other food minerals as staple food or snacks in Nigeria include the

followings: ogi (in hot and cold forms), tuwo, donkunnu, maasa, Couscous, akple, dwate,

nakia, egbo, abari, ajepasi, aadun, kokoro, elekute etc. (Abdulrahaman and Kolawole, 2006).

2.3 Types of Maize

According to McCann (2001) There are a number of different types of maize:

i. Field corn: is a North American term for maize (Zea mays) grown for livestock

fodder (silage), ethanol, cereal and processed food products. ... Ears of field corn

picked and consumed in this manner are commonly called "roasting ears" due to
 the most commonly used method of cooking them. In the U.S. is used mainly to

feed livestock, but in other countries is used for human consumption as well.

Figure 1: Field Corn

ii. Sweet corn: rugosa; also called sweetcorn, sugar corn and pole corn) is a

hybridized variety of maize with a high sugar content. Sweet corn is the result of

a naturally occurring recessive mutation in the genes which control conversion of

sugar to starch inside the endosperm of the corn kernel. The type most commonly

eaten in the U.S., is a genetic variation that accumulates more sugar and less

starch in the kernels; it is usually shorter than field corn.

 Figure 2: Sweet Corn

iii. Baby corn: also known as young corn, cornlets or baby sweetcorn) is a cereal grain
taken from corn (maize) harvested early while the stalks are still small and immature.
It typically is eaten whole – cob included – in contrast to mature corn, whose cob is
too tough for human consumption popularly used in Asian cuisine, is a variety of
maize developed to produce many small ears, rather than a few larger ones.

Figure 3: Baby Corn

iv. Popcorn: the ability of maize kernels to “pop” and expand upon heating, was also

discovered by the Native Americans. Maize is able to pop because, unlike other

grains, its kernels have a hard moisture-sealing hull and a dense starchy filling.

When heated, pressure builds inside the kernel until explosive “pop” results, and

the starch expands and then hardens in the cooler air. Many maize varieties will

pop, but some varieties have been specifically cultivated for this purpose.
 Figure 4: Pop Corn

v. Indian corn: Flint corn, or Indian corn, is one of the oldest varieties of corn, a

type that Native Americans taught the early colonists how to cultivate. Its kernels,

which come in a range of colors including white, blue and red, have “hard as flint”

shells, giving this type of corn its name and Indian corn was originally the term

applied to what we now know as maize or corn, to differentiate it from the generic

term of “corn” Europeans used for all grains at that time. Now, it usually refers to

any corn that has different colored kernels. Usually it is dried and used for

ornamental purposes.
 Figure 5: Indian Corn

2.4 Maize Shelling Machines

Threshing or shelling consists of separating the grains, or the shell in the case of maize,

from the portion of the plant that holds them.

This separation, done by hand or machine, is obtained by threshing, by friction or by

shaking the products; the difficulty of the process depends on the varieties grown, and on the

moisture content and the degree of maturity of the grain.

CHAPTER THREE

3.0 MATERIALS AND METHOD

3.1 Design considerations

The following factors were considered in designing the maize shelling machine.
 i. Power requirement: The machine will have minimum power requirement and

must be able to utilize available power efficiently so that there will not be any

power wastage.

ii. Simplicity: The machine will be easy to operate and maintain.

iii. Rigidity: Considering the nature of operation; machine will be appropriately

selected and relevant joining processes will be adopted for the rigity of the

machine, some parts will be fastened together by bolt and nuts. Some will be

welded while some will be machined to give concentricity for absolute rigity.

iv. Stability: To minimize vibration to the machine member during operation, all the

machine components will be fixed on a well-designed frame work. Also bearing

were used for proper alignment.

v. Durability: The lasting ability of the machine parts will also be considered when

or before selecting them.

vi. Portability: The machine will be designed in such a way that it can be very easy

move from one place to another.

3.2 Materials

Various materials that were used in the fabrication of the machine (fabrication of
maize sheller) are listed below:
 i. Shaft
ii. Angle iron
iii. Belt
iv. Bolt and nut
v. Pulley
vi. Bearing
vii. Mild steel electrode
viii. 1.5mm mild steel plate
ix. Frame
x. Electric motor

3.3 Materials selection

TABLE 1: Material selection criteria

MACHINE CRITERIA FOR MOST ACTUALLY REASONS FOR

S/N COMPONEN SELECTION SUITABLE SELECTED SELECTION
T MATERIAL MATERIAL

1. Frame structure Rigidity, resistivity, Galvanized steel Mild steel Availability and
durability and ability low cost
to withstand
vibration during
operation

2. Shaft Rigidity and rotating Stainless steel Mild steel Availability and
ability low cost

3. Hopper Availability and Stainless steel Mild steel Availability and

ability to convey the low cost
material easily and implication
withstand the weight
of the product

4. Spikes Rigidity, strong and Stainless steel Mild steel Readily available
tough and low cost

5. Upper and Availability Stainless steel Mild steel Availability and

lower trough resistant to splash
(drum) of shelling maize
6. Bearing Availability to Pillow bearing Pillow bearing Easy adjustment,
overcome torque motion proper
from the machine alignment and
and primemover easily fized to
frame

7. Motor Power rating (Lp) Electric prime Electric prime Maintenance cost
and revolution per mower mower is very low,
minute (rpm) durable and no
smoke

8. Bolt and nut Fatigue resistance Mild steel Mild steel Durability and
machineable

9. Power Flexible and tough Belt and pulley Belt and pulley Not easily damage
transmission

3.4 Fabrication procedures

These analyse the process carried out during the fabrication of maize shelling
machine. It includes the following processes:

Measurement of materials
All our measurement was taken in millimeters (mm). This was done carefully to
ensure accuracy in different parts dimension like the frame.

Materials used for the measurement

The major material used for the measurement is meter rule (steel rule)

Metal cutting
The entire cutting was done by the use of the hack saw,cutting machine andd surface
plate cutter. The metal was cut after the measurement and marking out was done.
Cutting material used are:
2 Hacksaw
3 Chiesel
4 Cuttinh machine (cutting disc)
5 Surface plate cutter

Metal joining (Welding)

 One important aspect of the processed involved in the fabrication of the machine is
the welding operation. We made use of arc welding throughout the welding operation.

The frame longer side which is the height was set first to correct alignment with the
breadth and lenght. The frame been made of angle iron were weld together. Other component
such as the shelling drum and hopper were join to the frame by welding.

Welding equipment used are:

i. Arc welding machine

ii. The electrode
iii. Safety goggles

The fabrication procedurevof the machine is the process of joining the materials
together. It includes; welding of the frame of the machine; welding of base for electric motor;
rolling of the shelling drum; welding of the shelling drum (upper and lower drum) to the
frame; welding of the upper and joining it to the other component.

The pulley arrangement was made by keying style for easy replacement and repairs.
And this arrangement of pulley with each other and based support provision eliminate
vibrations to greater degree.

Grinding operation

Grinding is the process of removing a waste metals by wheels rotating at speed. It is

mostly used for surface finish operation usually after some stages of welding. These
operation are carried out using the hand grinding machine to wipe off all the extral contours
(rough surface) that are welded joints. This machine is an electrically powered machine with
uttermost carefulness during handling

3.5 Machine description

 The machine fabricated consists of hopper, spikes, receptacle, frame, cob outlet,
shelling drum.

Hopper is located at top part of the machine. It have an entry through which the corn
enters the shelling chamber where the spikes which is rod in nature and attached (welded) to
the shaft beats the maize in other to remove the maise from the cob. The frame which is the
base of the machine stand as support and prevent vibration during working operation.
Shelling drum(upper and lower trough) is the shelling unit,and the shelled maize passes
through the cob outlet to the receptacle. The machine is powered by an electric motor which
is connected together through belt and pulley.

3.6 Machine operation

Maize sheller is a machine used to shelled maize with which maize is remove from the cob.

The machine consist of hopper through which maize is fed into the machine. It moves
into the shelling chamber. Shelling chamber comprises of the shaft and spikes welded to the
shaft, this help in shelling the maize by beating it until maize detach from the cob. Pulley, and
bearing aid the rotation of the shaft. The pulley was attached to the shaft, and it is joined to
the electric motor through belt. When the maize has already been shelled, it comes out
through the trough (lower drum) and the pass out through the cob outlet to the receptacle.

3.7 Operational procedure.

No specialization skill of experience is required for its operation.

Switch “ON” the power sources, the electric motor so that it drives the pulley to rotate the
shaft i.e to set the whole system working. Enter the corn into the hopper to flow into the
shelling chamber. The electric motor rotates that shaft and also the spike, which does the
main barrel, shelled the corn and comes out through the discharging chamber/outlet.

Table 2: Cost estimation of maize sheller

s/n Materials Quantity Rate Cost

1 1.5mm mild steel 1 plate 13,500 13.500

 plate

2 Mild steel shaft 45*500mm 15,000 15,000

lenght

3 Angle iron 50*50 6,500 19,500

3 lenght

4 Shelling drum/rolling 5,000 5,000

5 Mild steel Electrode 2,800

[12]

6 Cutting/grinding disc

7 Pillow bearing Diameter 30 2,700 10,800

4pcs

8 Bolt and nut 30 2pcs 1000 1000

9 Belt 500

Table 3: Cost of Machining Job

Materials Type of job Machine Machine Labour Time Total cost

used cost/hr cost/hour spend (hrs) ₦

Angle iron Cutting Hacksaw 200 200 1 400

Wielding Wielding 200 200 2 800
machine

Cutting Cutting Cutting 200 200 1 400

machine

Mile steel Sharpening Grinding 200 200 1 400

folder machine
Figure 6: Isometric Drawing of maize shelling machine

Figure 7: Exploded view drawing of maize shelling machine

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