Conceptual Design: A Case Study of Integrated Gearbox and Pulley-Belt System for Fish Feed Pelletizer

The conceptual design of the power transmission system for a fish feed pelletizer was developed. The development carried out using the modified Pahl and Beitz systematic design methodology, which provides a structured framework for engineering problem-solving through clearly defined stages. Preliminary works has obtained the pelletizer machine power was 1.55 kW to yield 80-85 kg pellet per hour, for suitable of small to medium-scale fish farming operations. The screw extruder rotational speed was 100-110 rpm. A conceptual design of the power transmission system was developed and guided by identification and weighting of evaluation criteria applied to alternative designs. The primary criteria identified were performance, cost, safety, maintainability, availability of components, and manufacturability. There was also a constraint in power availability that limited to single phase electricity. The power transmission system was decomposed into standard machine elements namely belt drives, chain drives, gear trains, and shaft couplings. This development resulted an integrated gearbox and pulley belt with combination ratio were 1:10 for gearbox and 1.5:1 for pulley-belt, as a power transmission system of the fish feed pelletizer.