• Prototype Failday

    load.nikon • 05/19/2015 at 12:29 • 0 comments

    I started prototyping the Garden Mill today. I took my existing trommel sifter which normally mounts on top of my wheelbarrow and begun with it as the sieve.

    ->

    I've had the gearbox for some time but needed to visualize how it was going to drive the rollers. I cut some wheels and pulleys out of scrap plywood (because shoestring budget) and ran them on to threaded rod for axles. I mounted the gearbox to an appropriate surface and had to kludge together a belt tensioner.

    All was for naught though as at the end of the day, the single drive axle did not have enough traction to drive the drum.

    (volume warning)

    Maybe I should have cut additional pulleys and put another belt on thus turning the idler axle into another drive axle. This still relies on the weight of the drum to provide the high coefficient of friction necessary to create traction between the plywood wheels and bicycle rims. Unless... damn. I just realized I could have cut some gears.

    I'm presenting this idea to my local hackerspace on Wednesday and I want to have something tangible to show rather than just the sketchup file. I think tomorrow I'll see if I can't make some 24" diameter gears to wrap around the bicycle rims.

  • Flowchart

    load.nikon • 05/07/2015 at 03:02 • 0 comments

    The garden-mill has found it's way into a flowchart. It's listed in green, in this project's main image gallery.