Design of a bale loading machine for small scale commercial farmers

M.Tech. (Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Technology)Small scale farmers often lack the financial resources to purchase the necessary agricultural machinery to make their work easier and more efficient. Consequently they have to employ labourers to do the work manually, work that could otherwise be done by a machine faster and at a lower production cost. The majority of the existing agricultural machinery on the market is designed for large industrial scale farming and is unaffordable to the small scale farmer. After a small scale farming survey, it was found that there is an acute need for cheap agricultural machinery suitable to be used on a small farm, needing a maximum of 1-2 laborers to run the machine. A typical example in this regards is the production of hay bales. Hay is baled to make storage, transportation and selling easy. The most economically efficient hay bales are the large round bales with a mass of about 500 kg as they are durable with a low cost per unit mass of hay. However to produce round large bales expensive equipment and labour is needed. The objective of the present project was to design and manufacture a cheap easy to maneuver and efficient bale loader, affordable to the small farmers, who produce small rectangular bales, with limited material and labour resources. The main features of the new bale loader design are based on existing bale loaders, with the necessary changes and improvements to be fit for the purpose