Innovative Conceptual Design of Manual Concrete Block Making Machine
One of the basic human needs is having a proper shelter. Due to the rapid population and urbanization growth, there is an escalating demand for affordable housing in Kenya. This necessitates looking for ways to reduce construction costs, particularly for low income housing group. Concrete block construction has recently gained significance, however most of the commercially available block making machines are imported and also expensive. Locally made affordable block making machine would render useful in lowering the cost of construction. This project, therefore, was aimed to complete a conceptual design of an innovative undemanding stationary manually operated concrete block machine that molds concrete blocks at a fraction of a cost in comparison with power operated options. The target specifications were derived from the customers' needs data collected during the local workshops' visits and from the secondary sources, mainly patents. Three design alternatives were developed; alternative design #3 was chosen by the engineering design decision weighted matrix and by the drop and re vote (D&R) method. The originality of this design is essentially in the ejection system: as opposed to many block making machines available which ejects blocks instead of the mould, this machine ejects the mould leaving the blocks on the base plate. Mild steel was a material of choice for the machine. A static simulation study on the frame model, which was fixed at the bottom mounting and an overall normal force of 981N or 100 Kg applied at the base plate was done using Engineering Design Software: SolidWorks, 2013 (design and simulation tool) The study included Stress, Displacement, and Strain analysis. Conceptual design of manual concrete block making machine was optimized according to results of simulations, calculations and fundamental engineering design principles. Cost estimation shows that this simple and economical piece of equipment could have a potential in lowering the cost of construction. To ascertain a potential, however, the authors propose further work on prototyping and testing to be carried out. Keywords: block making, concrete, design, machine.