Design, Fabrication and Testing of A 10kg Pedestal Foundry Sand Mixer for Mechanical Engineering Foundry Workshop, Nigerian Defence Academy Kaduna
Abstract
The Design and Construction of a10kg pedestal Foundry Sand Mixer using readily available materials was carried out. The work provide efficient and cost-effective sand mixing equipment for the Mechanical Engineering Department NDA foundry workshop to drive the development of machines and equipment. The construction focuses on material selection and development of major componets of the sand mixer which include, the machine frame fabricated from robust steel section that provide a stable and durable structure base, the cylindrical mixing drum made of stainless steel material to withstand corrossion and scratching during mixing process. The mixing blade made from structural steel desingned to effectively agitate the sand during mixing process and the prime mover which consists of an electric motor and gear box. Selected to meet the requirement for the selected speed and torque to archieve desired mixing. The mixer test results show that the average mixing time of the sand mixer to mix 7.7 kg of sand was 7.7 minutes. The time of mixing was short, thus the machine performance is satisfactory. Performance and Evaluation tests carried out to evaluate the mixing efficiency at different load of 5kg, 8kg, 10kg was conducted and proper sand mix was archived at 5 min, 8 min, 10 min respectively. The mixing efficiency, based on the homogeneity of the mixed sand, was determined to be 52.45%. Which compared good with the imported existing foundry sand mixer, fulang model 18-20TH which has an efficiency of 59%. The cost of the production of the sand mixer was 629,000 Naira. Which is cheaper than the imported sand mixer of the same capacity at the cost of 2,800.000 naira. This work provides a valuable resource for small-scall foundry shops seeking an alternative approach to sand mixing, promoting efficient production while potentially reducing costs and reliance on foreign imports.
Keywords
Local fabrication, cost-effective, Small-Scale Foundry, Mixing efficiency, Stainless steel Drum.
Citations
IRE Journals:
Aliyu Musa, Prof. D. K. Garba, Dr. S. O. Yakubu, Dr. T. Akor "Design, Fabrication and Testing of A 10kg Pedestal Foundry Sand Mixer for Mechanical Engineering Foundry Workshop, Nigerian Defence Academy Kaduna" Iconic Research And Engineering Journals Volume 9 Issue 4 2025 Page 1667-1674
IEEE:
Aliyu Musa, Prof. D. K. Garba, Dr. S. O. Yakubu, Dr. T. Akor
"Design, Fabrication and Testing of A 10kg Pedestal Foundry Sand Mixer for Mechanical Engineering Foundry Workshop, Nigerian Defence Academy Kaduna" Iconic Research And Engineering Journals, 9(4)
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