update

I've practically been camping out in the metal shop for a week and a half now. There are a lot of small alterations to the maize mill that need to be done in order for it to work and we've been attacking each little problems as we approach them. The simplest way is to weld steel to the cast iron mill but nobody knows if it's a safe idea, that the iron will not turn so brittle that it will crack under the torque produced by the system I'm building.  I'm pretty sure when I bring this to Uganda they can do everything I've done, but in two days time with some extra African ingenuity. However, on an exciting note, with a few more cuts on the lathe and some welding and this baby will be ready to grind!

It's cold out

"Keep your head cool and your heart warm" as my dear friend always says

Feeling

yep. like a terrible knot in my stomach. e-ery day. 

Informal mid-crit review

This was an informal midcrit review, but because I felt like my project was on fire (not in a motivational way) I decided to prepare slides in order to clearly show:
1. Concept validation, and 2. My plan, and 3. My goal

Since we are leaving together to Uganda quite soon, I really wanted to make sure everybody (ie. profs and advisors) was on board with the idea, and my choices.

A+

Friend's project presentation is based on smart interactions, and I think she did a fineee job.

Shelling

Been looking at maize shellers because it's part of the process before one can put maize into the mill. (Taking kernels off the cob).

The maize process goes something like this:

Sometimes, husking and shelling is done at the machine as well, depending on the quality of flour needed.

    Here's some basic 'ancient' technology on shelling and husking:

The three shellers in the image above:
Corn sheller wtih an engine, http://www.old-engine.com/keystone.htm
Patented sheller, 1877: http://www.americanartifacts.com/smma/sheller/goddard.htm
Common cast iron sheller, http://www.strombergschickens.com/product/hand-crank-corn-sheller/feed-mills


Extras:
Corn shelling in action: http://youtu.be/z6iXViuw24o
A cool and inspirational sheller by GCS: https://www.facebook.com/video/embed?video_id=10150323945951671

sulk

wallowing and sulking.

How do you draw a slumpy person anyway?

wallowing

like a piggy in a blanket, oinkity oink

No answers, just more questions

Today, we had a good session with our client, and we reviewed the project thus far and discussed what was next. We made a chart to mark a list of our priorities and our to do list. It seems I need to add some elbow grease. I've been spending my time trying to create an attachment part from the tricycle drivetrain for the tool, when perhaps I should be focusing on the tool first. Because maybe that attachment part isn't as necessary as I believed it to be. Of course, my research proves that indeed pedal power > single hand power, but under what varying variables? There are assumptions I have had to make in order to move forwards, and as a result, I have a good hypothesis, but a potentially wrong direction. And at the same time perhaps I was just solving a technical challenge and not really doing any design work.

So at the end of the day, back to the drawing board, does the benefit of the idea outweigh the cost of the part?

ideas

It's been fairly quiet, but that means I've been working hard! I had a nice Christmas holiday, and now I'm pulling up my sleeves, ready to get to work in the shops to test out some ideas.

plus a shaft, plus a mill...voila? 

Progress in a box

Look what arrived in the mail today! Progress! Now... the tricycle..