In modern life, farming is accompanied not only by the cultivation of crops, but also by the breeding and maintenance of livestock and birds. Indeed, many families dream of getting organic products (meat, milk, eggs) on their plot. However, in order for household breadwinners to be he althy and productive, a properly formulated diet, which includes ground feed, is very important.
Of course, there is no problem now to purchase the appropriate balanced feed in agricultural stores, but their cost will be much higher than the raw material itself (grain, corn, barley). Therefore, the owners of both farms and private households are constantly thinking about how to make a grain crusher with their own hands. Such a simple, self-made device is in no way inferior to industrial designs in terms of functionality and performance.
Appointment of grain crushers
A grain crusher is a technical unit, the use of which greatly simplifies the processcooking food for pets. Such feed is obtained by grinding and crushing various agricultural crops to obtain a fine fraction, which is much better absorbed by the body of any animal. Derived from domestic grain mills, the crushed product improves the productivity of livestock as well as improves their reproductive performance.
Therefore, such devices are indispensable helpers for farmers who have a large number of livestock or birds.
The principle of operation of crushers
The operation of a grain grinder is very similar to the action of a conventional coffee grinder used in everyday life, only in large volumes. After the equipment is connected to the electrical network, the engine is started. To avoid damage to the electric motor, it is necessary to scroll it for a while at idle to let it warm up a little.
When the electric motor has gained speed that meets the technical requirements, the raw materials are filled for processing into a special receiving hopper. Then the grain enters the crushing chamber, where cutting devices are installed. With the help of special knives rotating at high speed, raw materials are crushed.
The final stage of the home grain crusher will be sifting the resulting fraction through a sieve of a certain diameter. It is the diameter of the holes of this device that determines the degree of grinding of the processed raw materials.
Types of crushing units
According to the method of action, self-made grain crushers are divided intointo several types. The main types of devices:
- Drum (hammer) crushers are mainly used to obtain products of medium or fine grinding. Grain crushing in such devices is carried out using rotating hammers mounted on the rotor of the electric motor.
- Rotary self-made grain crushers grind raw materials by hitting them against the walls of the chamber housing. Therefore, the working container must be made of high strength metal. Grinding of products occurs until it is spilled through a sieve.
- Disk devices carry out grain crushing due to the rotation of the disks on which the impact elements are mounted. Wet raw materials may not be crushed, but only flattened, which is also used in the preparation of animal feed.
Making a grain crusher from a vacuum cleaner
If there is an old vacuum cleaner at home, then do not rush to throw it away. From this seemingly unnecessary unit, you can make a homemade grain crusher with your own hands. However, the vacuum cleaner itself will not be needed, but the electric motor will be needed to make a small compact device.
In addition to the motor, you will need the following materials:
- steel plate, which will be needed to make a cutting tool;
- a metal strip will be needed for a working devicecamera;
- 10mm thick plywood sheet;
- to supply the mixture you will need a hopper with a damper;
- sleeve, nuts and washers are needed to mount the entire structure.
Cutting element
The main working element of the grain crusher is the cutting knife, which grinds the grain, rotating at high speed. This part of the unit is made separately from a steel plate measuring 15 × 200 × 1.5 mm. In this case, the material must be selected with the highest strength indicators.
You can choose the shape of the tool yourself. Some people prefer to make the knife in the form of a propeller or a flat plate with beveled corners. The type of knife is easy to set with emery. The leading edges must be sharpened towards the axis of rotation.
To securely fasten the knife in the middle of its plane, a hole is drilled corresponding to the motor shaft of the vacuum cleaner. The cutting tool is attached to the shaft with a nut connection.
Working chamber and sieve
Before you make a grain crusher with your own hands, you need to resolve the issue of the functional use of the device. Therefore, you can use a finished sieve as a working chamber. But if you plan to grind not only cereals, but also vegetables, then it is recommended to use a removable sieve. To get flour, the grid is made fine, but for chopping vegetables, you will have to install perforated discs with special large holes.
When making forat home grain crushers, a removable working chamber is made of a metal sheet up to 60 mm wide and about 700 mm long. Such a blank is rolled up in the form of a ring, and the edges are fastened with rivets or bolts. To install the sieve and fix the workpiece on the base, the lower edge is bent outward.
Assembly steps of the unit
After all the main parts of the mechanism are assembled, you can proceed with the installation of the structure. To do this:
- Cut out the base of the grain crusher 300×300 mm from a sheet of plywood.
- An electric motor is fixed on the base, while its working shaft should protrude 40 mm down.
- Install the working chamber.
- Fix the cutting tool on the motor shaft.
- We strengthen the bunker at the base, through which the grain enters the working tank.
- From the bottom we install a receiving hopper, or a bucket for collecting finished products.
The structure is assembled and ready to go.
Crusher from washing machine
The grain crusher, made from an old washing machine, is capable of grinding a large amount of raw materials, so its use is more expedient in farms with a large number of livestock. It is better to take a cylindrical machine as the basis for such a design, in which the electric motor is located at the bottom of the unit. Such a machine, in principle, is already an almost finished unit, only requiring slight modification.
For the normal operation of a homemade crusher, you need to install a second, additionalelectric motor. It is better to place it under the top cover of the unit. The motor is mounted on metal plates or corners.
Crushing grain is carried out by two cutting tools, one of which is mounted on the top engine. The second knife is fixed directly to the washing machine motor. To increase productivity, the knives should rotate in opposite directions, and their planes should be located at an angle of 20-25 ° relative to each other.
To load raw materials, a hole is cut in the top cover. To reduce losses when filling grain, it is recommended to make a special tin box with a wide mouth.
To protect the auxiliary motor from dust, it must be covered with an empty tin can. A hole is cut in the side wall, near the lower engine, to extract the ground grain from the unit.
The principle of operation of such a device is in many ways similar to the operation of a household coffee grinder, so it makes no sense to dwell on this.
Homemade windmill
The main working tool of any mill are millstones. It is on this principle that home-made electric mills are made, where the role of millstones is performed by the stator and rotor of the structure.
The case of such a device is structurally made in the form of a round metal box with a diameter of 300–340 mm and a thickness of 5 mm. The stator is located at the bottom and has a small bead, and the fixture has a cover on top.
Inside the case there is an engine and a mill directly, which is mounted on the shaft of the unit, onwhich is still installed and the rotor. When rotating, the rotor is capable of speeds up to 3000 rpm.
Feeding of raw materials is carried out through the bunker, which is installed on top of the body.
Self-made rotor and stator
Before you make a mill-type grain crusher, you need to prepare the main components of the structure.
The rotor is made of a metal sheet with a minimum thickness of 3 mm. Having cut a circle with a diameter of 320 mm, we draw a circle 20 mm smaller than the workpiece. Then we break it into 32 even parts and drill holes. After we make a cut with a hacksaw for metal from the edge of the workpiece to the mark. Bend the resulting strips. In the center of such a propeller, a sleeve 50 mm long and 30 mm in diameter is welded.
The next step is to make the stator. Why is a workpiece bent around the circumference from a metal plate about 50 mm wide and 2 mm thick. It is placed in a container for pouring, and on one edge it is covered with a layer of aluminum to form a bowl. The bottom of the bowl is 4 mm thick. Then we make the workpiece ribbed by welding stiffeners to the inside of the stator. In the center we make a hole for the shaft.
Before the work of the structure, the stator is installed on the shaft, and then we strengthen the rotor on the key. The whole system is connected with a pin through the hole in the bushing.
A simple grinder grinder
Farmers came up with a completely different application for a hand saw with a rotating disk (grinder). After a little refinement, such a power tool began to be used as a homemadegrain crusher.
The basis of a small structure is a strong plywood, on which all the nodes of the fixture are attached. The body of the grinder is installed in one of the holes with the help of a bracket and bolts, and the other is necessary for the receiving hopper.
The cutting blade of the saw needs to be replaced with a double-sided sharp knife, which serves as a crushing tool.
To the bottom of the base, using bolts or screws, either a purchased or self-made mesh of the required size is attached from an old colander. Any plastic container acts as a bunker.
Homemade grain crushers, after a little refinement of unnecessary household appliances, can be an excellent alternative to industrial units, which are much more expensive in price and cannot always satisfy the owner's needs in terms of functionality. In a do-it-yourself device, it is easy to replace knives for grinding not only grain, but also potatoes or vegetables.
