Engineers Without Frontiers

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Engineers Without Frontiers
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Team Members

• Jason Gahres, Joe Foderaro, Matt Furedi, Daryl
  Faust

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Project Overview

• Sisal is a long plant fiber, used for the
  manufacture of ropes, sacks, carpets, and many
  other products.
• There is a demand for a small portable fiber
  extraction machine to help eastern Africa
  increase its sisal production.
• Our design team plans to create a testable sisal
  decorticator prototype.

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Proposed Design
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Deliverables

• Use proposed decorticator plans to build a
  prototype
• Design and implement safety features on prototype
• Test prototype and make further modifications to
  improve on the current design
• Web page
• Final report
• Showcase poster and presentation

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• Obtained a HVAC blower and housing
• This will be used as the building block for our
  prototype.
• An electric motor will be used for testing
  indoors and will be used for the final prototype.
  For use in the field an IC engine is a more
  suitable choice

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Designed and built feed system

• Cut an opening which will be used for the sisal
  feed
• Designed and fabricated a table which will be
  used to feed the sisal

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Designed and installed cutting system

• Modified blowers fan with rubber mounted cutting
  blades
• Designed and built a concave

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2. Implementation of safety considerations

• Constructed a waste bin
• Designed a safety brake

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3. Testing and additional modifications

• Testing was done with a small sisal plant and the
  following conclusions were made
• Thick rubber paddles worked just as well as metal
  paddles
• In order to keep the concave in constant contact
  with the paddles, springs were used to hold it in
  tension

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Any Questions?