Hobby olive oil production

[psient]

psient, #47, The wheel also has to be able to crush the pips. Bigger diameter means less revolutions for the same distance travelled. How about fabricating a hollow wheel and then filling it with ballast (no leaks allowed!!) for the necessary weight.

I've considered this. If one were to use Stainless Steel pipe then this could be done. I have considered using ball bearings as ballast, although I suspect there'd be a bunch of noise. The fabrication of the plates that encapsulate the hollow tubing would become a challenge as you'd have to mill the hole for the shaft and then press bearings. I'd probably stay with trying to find a remnant of a solid piece of 10" O.D. -24" O.D. solid round stock. I think it'd be easier to machine and work with precision.

Another thought - same wheels, say two with a central vertical shaft around which the wheels revolve as in several existing designs, and add weights to the shaft that transfers to the wheels drive shaft in order to give the crushing power of the lighter wheels.

I hadn't thought of this. I wonder what design would allow the down-force transfer to the horizontal shaft without putting excessive strain on the junction of transfer.

I mean; you have a shaft that is transmitting rotation, and that means torque, against a relatively small surface area face of the horizontal shaft and then you add a mass trying to bend that horiz. shaft downward as it is simultaneously subject to torque. The place where the horizontal and vertical shafts connect would need to be stout enough to handle these forces equivalent to a dynamic weighting if the rotation of the crushing wheel is subject to slight variations caused by the viscous pulp. You would have to design a weight bearing surface to support the vertical shaft as well, although a base plate and bearing are probably pretty easy to design.

People with the requisite engineering skills to design the ideas, or explain why they will not work, need to join in this thread.

I know there are folks with the design skills on the Machinist boards but they are not interested in oil as a hobby.

I think these discussions actually move the design forward. I like the idea of stainless steel as material for a crushing wheel for obvious reasons. I imagine the villagers of past eras would have made this work if they'd had the materials. Practical design as a community effort.

Jon

 

[OldMcDonald]

psient, Do you know the minimum weight that is needed to crush the pips? I have not seen any figures, although I have not specifically looked. The last thing you want is to find a round and later discover it is not heavy enough. Does a smaller diameter wheel require more power to turn, ie does it take more force to turn the 10" round than the 24" if they are of equal weights?

I can understand when people do not join in a thread that is not of a great deal of interest to them. It is frustrating when you know there are people with the knowledge. Of course everybody has limited time too. I daresay if you had been planning on crushing apples instead of olives I might not have been so interested myself.

Sorry that my last few posts have been raising questions rather than giving you answers, but I just keep mulling over your project when I am doing jobs that do not require a great deal of brain power, and the questions materialise.

 

[psient]

psient, Do you know the minimum weight that is needed to crush the pips? I have not seen any figures, although I have not specifically looked. The last thing you want is to find a round and later discover it is not heavy enough.

A 12 X 8 inch wheel would weigh over 250 pounds, enough to grind olives I daresay.

Does a smaller diameter wheel require more power to turn, ie does it take more force to turn the 10" round than the 24" if they are of equal weights?

I should think that you would be changing the footprint by making the weights equal; length and so friction would change proportionately.

Sorry that my last few posts have been raising questions rather than giving you answers, but I just keep mulling over your project when I am doing jobs that do not require a great deal of brain power, and the questions materialise.

All of these points should be addressed . . . two heads are better than one (unless you get a head cold).

Jon

 

[psient]

Here is an animation of a crusher design that is similar to one I found on ebay for plastic. This animation was constructed by Sander Kabai .


Wolfram Demonstrations Project

Jon