Day two...

Day two of the EWB conference...more people, more interest, more great questions...

Jeff and I participated as real world examples of how CTI collaborates with it's partners, and had the chance to explain the 2 pass prototype to the audience.

Jeff deserves HUGE credit for this prototype. He spent many nights this last week finishing the system, and it shows...

The thresher breaks down to fit into a standard suitcase for ease of transport...

Has a minimal number of parts...

And then assembles to create a compact, stable system (1st generation is on left)...

We have 3 weeks to incorporate a stripping mechanism that removes the millet from the candle (stalk) as well as a hand powered winnower. Then our little baby is off to Mali for field testing and user feedback. Over the summer we will modify the system based on the feedback and have another device in the field in time for the fall harvest...

The Blue Sweater...

Jacqueline Novogratz, CEO and Founder of the Acumen Fund http://www.acumenfund.org/ gave the keynote address Friday. She has a new book called The Blue Sweater, personal memoirs of her lifelong quest to understand global poverty and to find powerful new ways of tackling it.

You can lean more, and hear interviews here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Blue-Sweater/41692100926?ref=ts

A few of my take aways:

- "Philanthropy is broken" - insight gained from her time at the Rockefeller Foundation

- "Charity alone will not solve poverty"

- "Dignity is more important than wealth"

A re-occurring theme between all the people in this field is patience and time...

...Both are critical to the success of any endeavor

Road Trip!

Jeffy and I are on our way to the Engineers Without Borders conference in Milwaukee. We will be delivering the 2 Pass prototype, as well as helping Roger (from CTI) with a few workshops.
We are looking forward to talking with others who share out interest, and hope to move our vision for OneLab one step closer to reality!

Winnower 2.0

Thom made some good progress on the winnower. We are still on track to deliver the 2 Pass prototype to the engineers Without Borders Conference at the end of March!

A visit from Erv...

Erv Lentz, full time volunteer with CTI visited our humble workshop this past weekend to check on our progress, brainstorm some new ideas, and apparently meet every member of Jeff's extended family, including the dogs...



Jeff demonstrated the current version of the roller module, which is ROCK SOLID and works like a champ (regardless of what my son Elliot explains to Jeff...)

We ran millet through the system 2 times, and winnowed by hand to have Erv evaluate the "brokens".




Then Thom demonstrated the winnower prototype. It still has some bugs, and he is trying to dial in the appropriate air flow, which is proving to be a bit of a pickle...

Modified roller modules

While Thom was working on the winnower, Jeff updated the roller modules to be more durable, as well as integrated a feed hopper.

We were having issues with the rubber staying glued to the rollers, so the design was modified to accept a rubber tube. We now have a seamless rubber roller that does not move or get caught up in the framework.




The belt drive wheel was moved to the opposite side for user safety, and all of the access points were moved to the front, so you don't have to dissemble the entire system to remove a roller.in the field



The feed hopper was integrated into the top of the module, which allows for the same design to be stacked on top of each other to create the 2 pass system. (The metal walls for the hopper are being bent today, so I added them in Photoshop...)

Winnower prototype

Sorry for the delay in posts...Travel, work schedule and the flu have kept me from updating...



Thom built a prototype of the integrated winnower, including a clear front so we could see how everything works. The ramps are adjustable to allow the angles to be tweaked.



Initial test went well, with a few seeds getting stuck on the ramp


A fair amount of chaff made it out of the system


While the seeds dropped down into the bottom



Our only concern is the ability to generate a constant amount of airflow using a hand powered fan attached to the hand crank. We plan to discuss with Erv during his visit this weekend.