The agricultural sector has developed rapidly and many modern agricultural tools have been made, replacing traditional agricultural equipment. One of them is a corn sheller.
Corn sheller is a device designed to separate corn kernels from the cobs. Before the invention of this tool, corn farmers did the manual separation of corn seeds.
There are several corn shellers that work differently. Here’s an explanation of how the corn sheller works based on its type:
1. Manual Model Corn Sheller
This corn sheller is a manual tool for shelling corn based on the size of the corn. If the corn sizes are very different then more than one of these tools is needed. This tool has a capacity of 12-15 kg of corn per hour for each person.
The use of this tool is quite easy, just by inserting the peeled corn cobs into this tool according to the right size. Then turn and apply pressure to release the corn kernels from the cob.
2. Langer Model Corn Sheller
The Langer model corn sheller is made of bearings with legs and a rotating crank. And also the ring longer on the inside is fitted with a kind of gear so that when the crank is turned the gear will engage. These models usually have a capacity of up to 30 kg of corn kernels per hour per person.
The workings of this tool are also quite easy. You just need to insert it into the bearing and then turn the crank. Thus, the bearing will separate the seeds from the corn cobs.
3. Tire Model Corn Sheller
This tire model corn sheller is made of wooden planks covered with grooved used car tires. This tool has a capacity of up to 25-30 kg of corn per hour for each person. This tool has an advantage because the manufacturing process is very simple.
The way to use of the tire model corn sheller are:
- Put the corn cobs into the reservoir which is a temporary place for the corn cobs before being peeled.
- The feed line will cause the corn cobs to fall on their own due to the force of gravity.
- Inside the sheller cylinder is a row of bolts that protrude to the surface to remove the corn kernels and also push the corn cobs in case of slippage. The sheller cylinder is closed with a car tire that has teeth, causing friction and causing the corn kernels to be separated from the cob.
- Seeds that have been separated from the cob will fall into the seed reservoir.
4. Single Cylinder Model Corn Sheller
The single cylinder model corn sheller is made of several blocks arranged as a frame and plywood as a covering wall. The sheller cylinder is made of wood which has a diameter of 30 cm. To make it strong then nails are mounted at the ends.
This corn sheller is capable of shelling corn up to 40 kg of corn kernels per hour. However, the corn kernels produced will not be good as a result of the friction between the corn kernels and the nails mounted on the sheller cylinder.
5. Corn Sheller/Maize Thresher/Corn Sheller
This machine uses gasoline or diesel as fuel depending on each engine. The sheller machine is driven with the aim of separating the corn kernels from the cobs.
This machine is equipped with a hopper (intake tub) which serves to enter corn in a large capacity of up to 5 kg. The material is made of galvalume which aims to prevent rusting so that the cleanliness of the corn is maintained.
How the corn sheller machine works in general is quite easy, here’s how:
- Turn on the gasoline engine on the corn sheller machine.
- Put the corn cobs into the hopper of the sheller machine.
- Let the machine run to separate the kernels from the corn cobs.
- Seeds that have been separated from the cob will automatically fall into the seed storage container.
- While the corn cobs will fall into the cob storage container.
- Turn off the machine when it is finished and clean it from the remaining dirt from the shelled corn.
When the gasoline motor is turned on, the pulley connected to the motor will also rotate. The rotation is forwarded to the sheller shaft by using a v-belt. The sheller pulley rotation is forwarded to the blower shaft with a smaller pulley ratio so that the blower rotation is faster than the sheller rotation.
The corn in the hopper will drop to the bottom due to the vibration of the sheller. The corn will fall into the tube of the sheller machine and the seeds will be separated by the eye of the sheller at an angle of approximately 19 degrees.
The sheller eye will automatically sort the corncobs and then move them to the output section. Corn kernels and cobs will be separated because of the filter or sieve at the bottom of the jar.
After that, the corn seeds will go into the corn seed reservoir. Before entering the reservoir, the corn seeds mixed with dirt will be sucked in by the blower so that the corn seeds that come out are clean.
That’s a discussion of how the corn sheller machine works according to its type. These tools will certainly make the agricultural sector more advanced.