Operating our thresher on-stage:
The presenters speaking about the design process:
Friday, July 3, 2009
Presenting Our Thresher - June 25 2009
The entire team at our booth with the thresher. We had the booth set up for two days in a row, and provided information about our device.
Operating our thresher on-stage:
The presenters speaking about the design process:
Operating our thresher on-stage:
The presenters speaking about the design process:
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
The Final Product
First, one must feed the panicle of sorghum into the thresher:
The threshed sorghum and minimal plant material falls into a fluidized bed; the grating that lies underneath allows the seeds to fall into the chute, and the excess plant material to be buoyed up by the air from the fan:
All you have to do to thresh sorghum is some pedaling!
The threshed sorghum and minimal plant material falls into a fluidized bed; the grating that lies underneath allows the seeds to fall into the chute, and the excess plant material to be buoyed up by the air from the fan:
All you have to do to thresh sorghum is some pedaling!
Photos of the Build Process - June 2009
Adrianna, working hard on the frame:
David welding:
Tyler and Kenny, working on the thresher:
Tyler and Bethany, working on the pulley:
David welding:
Tyler and Kenny, working on the thresher:
Tyler and Bethany, working on the pulley:
Our Sorghum Thresher at EurekaFest - June 24-27 2009
After racing through a build season of only a scant few weeks, we arrived at MIT's EurekaFest with a fully-functioning, highly successful sorghum thresher on June 24th, 2009. We were chosen to present our project in front of an audience of three or four hundred people, and received ample press coverage, such as from Discovery and Whole Grains Council. (Click to read the articles.)
Our design consists of a threshing drum – an inner and outer cylinder with spikes, with an annular space between – and a winnowing fan, which fluidized the bed of grain after it is threshed off of the stems and branches, or panicle. Both of these components are powered by pedaling a bicycle wheel.
More photos to come, including videos of our presentation/demonstration and from the event itself.
Our design consists of a threshing drum – an inner and outer cylinder with spikes, with an annular space between – and a winnowing fan, which fluidized the bed of grain after it is threshed off of the stems and branches, or panicle. Both of these components are powered by pedaling a bicycle wheel.
More photos to come, including videos of our presentation/demonstration and from the event itself.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Prototyping the Thresher - 5/5/2009
We are well underway in our prototyping process. We are building two prototypes:
1. A dual-roller brush design
2. An "annular chamber" design (a cylinder inside of a cylinder.)
Design 1:
Design 2:
1. A dual-roller brush design
2. An "annular chamber" design (a cylinder inside of a cylinder.)
Design 1:
Design 2:
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Pedal-Operating the MSU Thresher - 3/16/09, 3/24/09
Recently, we experienced one of the most pivotal events of our inventing experience! We hooked up a bicycle to the soybean thresher we received from Michigan State University, to test if it was in fact feasible for a thresher to be human-powered and pedal-operated.
Some of the team members attaching the bicycle to the MSU thresher.
We put some of our able-bodied men to the test with our new thresher - and they powered it with ease! In fact, the thresher actually worked more efficiently than it previously had.
We affirmed that it is both feasible and efficient to manually pedal-operate a sorghum and millet thresher.
Some of the team members attaching the bicycle to the MSU thresher.
We put some of our able-bodied men to the test with our new thresher - and they powered it with ease! In fact, the thresher actually worked more efficiently than it previously had.
We affirmed that it is both feasible and efficient to manually pedal-operate a sorghum and millet thresher.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
1/1/09 - Making a Mortar and Pestle
Our InvenTeam's New Year's Eve festivities included making a mortar and pestle similar to those used to thresh sorghum in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Adrianna spreading cement at the bottom of the pot.
Marissa and Tyler cutting a wooden holder for a tube and ball that will serve as a mold. The tube and ball, if suspended in the middle of the cement, will create a perfect shape on the inside of the mortar.
Gina, Phyllis, and Mr. Moser working on the last bits of cement for the mortar.
The mortar all set, drying the night away!
All done!
Adrianna spreading cement at the bottom of the pot.
Marissa and Tyler cutting a wooden holder for a tube and ball that will serve as a mold. The tube and ball, if suspended in the middle of the cement, will create a perfect shape on the inside of the mortar.
Gina, Phyllis, and Mr. Moser working on the last bits of cement for the mortar.
The mortar all set, drying the night away!
All done!
Saturday, February 7, 2009
11/3/08 - Sorghum 101 with Jeff Dahlberg
11/3/2008-
The true turning point in our project came in the form of a Skype call.
Dr. Jeff Dahlberg from the National Sorghum Producers graciously offered hours of his time to teach us all about sorghum. He gave us more insight and information that could never have been obtained through the means of books and internet searches. He spoke about his time working with the Peace Corps, the use of sorghum, and the need for a manual thresher in developing countries. In addition, he invited us to the American Seed Trade Association's Seed Expo.
One of the most important things we learned is that sorghum is eaten by the poorest of the poor in developing countries - other grains such as corn and rice are far too expensive for the people who need the most aid.
After our Skype call, we decided that our primary focus was to build a manual sorghum and millet thresher to aid women in Sub-Saharan Africa, who spend many long, arduous hours engaged in the tedious process of threshing sorghum and millet by mortar and pestle.
Emboldened with a much more specific vision of what to design and build, we set about the next stages of the project with determination.
The true turning point in our project came in the form of a Skype call.
Dr. Jeff Dahlberg from the National Sorghum Producers graciously offered hours of his time to teach us all about sorghum. He gave us more insight and information that could never have been obtained through the means of books and internet searches. He spoke about his time working with the Peace Corps, the use of sorghum, and the need for a manual thresher in developing countries. In addition, he invited us to the American Seed Trade Association's Seed Expo.
One of the most important things we learned is that sorghum is eaten by the poorest of the poor in developing countries - other grains such as corn and rice are far too expensive for the people who need the most aid.
After our Skype call, we decided that our primary focus was to build a manual sorghum and millet thresher to aid women in Sub-Saharan Africa, who spend many long, arduous hours engaged in the tedious process of threshing sorghum and millet by mortar and pestle.
Emboldened with a much more specific vision of what to design and build, we set about the next stages of the project with determination.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
12/9/08 - 12/12/08 - Photos from the Seed Expo in Chicago
Our team with our poster!
We received a lot of information about how the machines that we saw there worked.
We attended a private meeting with some of the top engineers at Almaco, a company that produces research threshers.
We also had dinner with Dr. Jeff Dahlberg from the National Sorghum Producers and Mr. Tim Lust who gave us a lot of helpful tips and a taste of Chicago's famous deep-dish pizza! Yummmm!
When it was all over, we were tired, but we came away with a ton of ideas and we hope to implement them into our machine. Again, thank you to all the people who helped us, we can't thank you enough!!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
12/9/08 - 12/12/08 - The American Seed Trade Association's Seed Expo 2008
Attending the American Seed Trade Association's Seed Expo 2008 and 63rd Corn & Sorghum Research Conference was a fantastic experience for the Teen Technology MIT InvenTeam. Many thanks to all – your thoughts and advice were very beneficial to our research and developments. Thank you to Dr. Jeff Dahlberg for making such an experience possible!
In particular, it was very enriching to the team to speak with representatives from all branches of the industry. The vast breadth of the conference encompassed everything from digital seed-scanning software to colossal combines. Such a variety allowed our team to gain a comprehensive outlook on the agricultural industry as a whole – an outlook that could not be gained by merely reading encyclopedias or perusing websites.
The representatives of all companies were particularly helpful. Even if our research did not pertain to their branch of the industry, they gave us useful information about their own projects and experiences, and also directed us to individuals who worked on projects relevant to our own. The MIT InvenTeam would like to again sincerely thank them for their efforts. There is no substitute in the realm of invention for an expert's insight on a project idea.
In particular, it was very enriching to the team to speak with representatives from all branches of the industry. The vast breadth of the conference encompassed everything from digital seed-scanning software to colossal combines. Such a variety allowed our team to gain a comprehensive outlook on the agricultural industry as a whole – an outlook that could not be gained by merely reading encyclopedias or perusing websites.
The representatives of all companies were particularly helpful. Even if our research did not pertain to their branch of the industry, they gave us useful information about their own projects and experiences, and also directed us to individuals who worked on projects relevant to our own. The MIT InvenTeam would like to again sincerely thank them for their efforts. There is no substitute in the realm of invention for an expert's insight on a project idea.
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