Automated briquetting machine

Recycling is a word commonly heard at present especially now that the earth is running low in natural resources. Wood is one of these natural resources that we use and need every day: it serves as our shelter and is used in construction, a basic raw material for fuel, and sometimes, it is even used for cooking. Wood has abundant functions in our daily living and that is the reason why the group’s interest in finding solutions for word recycling grew. The group’s thesis focuses in a new way of recycling wood, it aims to combine engineering solutions and the idea of recycling to fabricate a machine that can process wood waste or sawdust and turn them into wood briquettes. Wood briquettes are compacted wood materials that can be used as an alternative fuel source to replace firewood and charcoal. Fourkings Lumber and Construction Supply Incorporated gained an interest in sponsoring the group’s thesis of making an 2Automated Briquetting Machine3. The said machine would process 40 kg of sawdust per hour and turned these wastes into wood briquettes. The machine has a built-in-hopper, attached to a screw conveyor that regulates the feed of materials into the compression chamber. It uses hydraulic cylinders to compress the wood waste through a heated die to stabilize the hardness of the wood briquettes. The machine is installed with a programmable logic controller, working with pressure switches and proximity sensors, to automate the manufacturing process of the machine. With the automation of the machine, production only requires a single operator. Manual processes only include the feeding of raw materials and the collection of end products. By fabricating the 2Automated Briquetting Machine3, the sponsor not only finds a new solution for these space-consuming waste, but it would also provide them with a new business opportunity for the company