Design of a Fruit Masticating Juicer With Pedal Machinery

Abstract

Efforts have been on improving and developing cost-effective/user-friendly technologies that can easily be adopted by local farmers and processors especially in the area of fruit juice production. Though, conversion of agricultural produce to valuable products for domestic and foreign markets to enhance food security and sustainability has been challenging. However, one of the panacea to this is mechanization of the processing tools/equipment and this has been sometimes difficult in Nigeria because of the high cost of agricultural machines and equipment. This has necessitated the design of a fruit masticating juicer with pedal mechanism using locally available materials. The design consists a rectangular pyramid hopper, a base with shutter to discharge the fruits into a perforated cylinder by gravity, a square feed funnel, and perforated extraction chamber to allow fruit juice extract to drain out the juice. A pedal unit, keyed to a screw press shaft to serve as a source of power to drive the machine and a truss support structure made up of a welded rectangular top piece manufactured from an extruded 'l' beam to serve as a seat for the whole components.
Findings showed that a standard shaft diameter of 25 mm and a Torque of 23.87 Nm achieved with 200 W power will be sufficient to drive a screw length of 300 mm. The machine can be produced at a relatively cheap price using local materials. This ensures ease of production, repair, maintenance and an alternative to the expensive juice extraction equipment, thereby supporting agricultural development and food productivity, security and sustainability in Nigeria.