Shelling corn is a chore done by hand in much of the rural developing world. Yet there are handy corn shellers that can save people hours of labor. Corn comes in different sizes so customized shellers are needed for different regions - and the various DIY shellers are a major chore to make.
This project is a 3-D printable customizable corn sheller. Here you can either use the customizer app or the OpenSCAD to get the right size of sheller for your crop -- then print in plastic or metal.
This is an example of 3-D printable open source appropriate technology developed by Michigan Tech's Open Sustainability Technology Lab.
This academic paper explains how 3-D printing could be a powerful tool for pulling people out of poverty in the developing world.
More details:
- Joshua Pearce, How to make a customizable 3D-printed corn sheller - Engineering for the Change, Dec. 2014.
- Joshua Pearce. How to make a 3-D printed corn sheller. Chap. 4 Do It Yourself Guides to Food Production. Engineering for the Change, 2018.
